Sex Offender, Teen Suicides and $10K Fine Plague Utah Autism Program

After Two Suicides, Utah Fined Daniels Academy $10K, But Not For Hiring This Guy.

Sources say Conner Russell Braze was arrested on drug charges (booking photo above) before Daniels Academy hired him. Later he was found guilty of sexual exploitation of a child, attempted sodomy of a child, enticement of a child and knowingly providing alcohol to a child. (Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office 2018)

This report discusses child sexual abuse. If you or someone you know is unsure whether to file an abuse report or just need support, contact the National Children's Alliance at www.nca-online.org or 1-800-239-9950.

Before Conner Russell Braze was charged with sexual exploitation of a child, court records indicate, he was charged with DUI, reckless driving, underage driving and possession. A 2018 raid of his home made the local news. According to KUTV Channel 2: “detectives located a large amount of Butane Hash Oil (BHO), Cocaine, LSD Acid, Psilocybe Mushrooms, Marijuana and Paraphernalia.” (Braze was not immediately reachable for comment. His attorney of record, David Heier, did not immediately respond before publication.)

Despite the bust, multiple sources tell MartyG Reports that Daniels Academy, an increasingly controversial troubled teen industry program in Utah’s Heber City, hired Braze to care for autistic kids.

Braze “was actually the one showing students the news story” of his own drug arrest, said Maverick, a former Daniels Academy client. “I don’t know why they didn’t do a background search.”

Indeed, state law requires Daniels Academy and other residential youth programs to submit their employees for background checks. Utah passed that law in 2005, after sex offenders and other criminals were found working at troubled teen industry programs nationwide. According to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, those “seeking a position in a youth residential program […] require the highest level of clearance.”

Daniels Academy operates at least three buildings in Heber City, Utah. Pictured is the entrance to its “Daniels Home.” (© 2023 Nora Ashleigh Barrie)

MartyG Reports called and emailed Daniels Academy for comment. The email bounced and a voicemail went unreturned prior to publication. MartyG Reports also texted and emailed the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees background check compliance, but did not receive a response immediately before publication.

Ultimately, Daniels Academy fired Braze, sources say. Then, on June 2, 2020, Utah charged Braze with sexual exploitation of a child, attempted sodomy of a child, enticement of a child and knowingly providing a minor with alcohol. The alleged events took place before Daniels Academy reportedly hired him, but not before his other arrests noted above.

On June 16, 2021, Braze filed a statement in support of a guilty plea: “On or about July 1, 2018, in Wasatch County, State of Utah, the Defendant did attempt to engage in a sexual act with a child under 14 involving his genitals and the victim's mouth.” (According to court records, that victim is female. According to its website, “Daniels Academy provides a safe and therapeutic environment where young men overcome past failures and learn to thrive through meaningful relationships and coaching.”)

Last week these writers reported that 16-year-old Dee Rutzen fatally leapt three stories from a Daniels Academy apartment in July, and that on December 26, 2020, 14-year-old Ben Hertzman shot himself in the head, while home from Daniels Academy on a scheduled break. See MartyG Reports here and The Daily Mail here.

The Daniels Academy apartments were Dee Rutzen fatally leapt three stories. (© 2023 Nora Ashleigh Barrie)

Utah had placed the part of Daniels Academy where Rutzen died on a short-term probationary license set to expire yesterday, August 20. But, as the previous articles went to print on August 14, the Utah Department of Health and Human Services Office of Licensing determined that Daniels Academy waited too long to report Rutzen’s death. It also found that in the the weeks that followed Daniels Academy had allowed “multiple staff to work without an approved background clearance and without direct supervision.”

Other state documents provide further insights into Rutzen’s death. “During on[-] and off-site inspections, multiple interviews and documentation disclosed that a client had been experiencing mental health concerns such as auditory and visual hallucinations and suicidal ideation with expression of a plan while in a residential support treatment setting,” says one. “This resulted in the client taking their life.”

Another indicates Rutzen “requested to be taken to a psychiatric hospital multiple times between 07/03/2023 and 07/11/2023,” but Daniels Academy did not transfer Rutzen “to a higher level of care as requested.”

Inspections also revealed that Daniels Academy had another “critical incident” on August 2, but failed to report it within 24 hours.

Based on these findings the Office of Licensing fined Daniels Academy $10,000, the maximum allowed by law, and extended the probationary licensing another 285 days until May 31, 2024. During this time it will charge Daniels Academy $275 for each onsite inspection and perform those inspections more frequently. Daniels Academy is also barred from accepting new clients until two weeks after it remedies the noted violations.

The fines, fees and enrollment stoppage may be unlikely to satisfy the former clients and other critics who wanted Daniels Academy closed. But they may take heart that Utah’s posture towards Daniels Academy today is not dissimilar from its recent posture towards Diamond Ranch Academy, which is now closed.

Diamond Ranch Academy in Hurricane, Utah, is now closed. (Google Earth)

Two of Daniels Academy’s relevant licenses expire April 30 next year. The other expires the same day as the current probationary license. Utah never technically revoked Diamond Ranch Academy’s license. It placed it on probation until it expired and then declined to renew it.

MartyG Reports asked the Office of Licensing to respond to a Daniels Academy staffer’s assessment that Daniels Academy had taken no significant action to prevent a third program-related suicide. The office reiterated that it “is conducting increased monitoring inspections to ensure compliance with administrative rules,” and added, “Anyone who has concerns or complaints about a licensed facility can submit a complaint via https://dlbc.utah.gov/ or by emailing DLBC@utah.gov.”

Nora Ashleigh Barrie coauthored this report. She maintains https://thetroubledteenindustry.com/ and manages The Surviving Abuse Podcast.