Confronted with allegations of sexually touching young boy, suspect tried to commit suicide, police say

By Las Vegas Sun Staff (contact)

Published Tuesday, June 24, 2014 | 9:21 a.m.

Updated Tuesday, June 24, 2014 | 4:35 p.m.

Shortly after being confronted about inappropriate touching of a young boy, a 40-year-old Henderson man tried to take his life by slitting his wrists, according to a heavily redacted Metro Police arrest report released today.

Bryan Hargrave, 40, is in custody at the Clark County Detention Center, booked on one count of lewdness with a child under 14.

The arrest report says Hargrave became “Uncle Bryan” to the alleged victim’s family. They had met him at the Fiesta Rancho hockey rink about two years ago, where Hargrave had befriended many single moms with hockey-playing sons. Some of the moms “thought he was creepy,” but the alleged victim’s mom thought he was “nice and OK with the kids,” according to the report.

On June 16, however, the 39-year-old mother contacted Metro after her son told her Hargrave had touched him inappropriately on four occasions. According to the report, Hargrave often would come over to the mother’s house and would help her tuck her children into bed. On recent occasions, the nighttime routine was different. With the mother in a separate room tucking in her daughter, Uncle Bryan was in the boy’s room and allegedly touching the boy inappropriately. The door to the daughter’s room is loud when closing, the mother told police, so Hargrave would have been able to hear the mother when she was on the way to the boy’s room.

The boy didn’t tell the mother about the touching, he told her, because “Bryan said that she already knew about it.”

When the mother learned about the allegations, she called Metro and another person, identified in the police report only by his last name. The man came to the house, took the mother’s phone and called Hargrave to confront him. Hargrave told the man he had “no clue” what the man was talking about and hung up.

Metro, meanwhile, responded to the woman’s home to interview the mother and son. While there, the officer received a call from dispatchers who said Henderson Police had some information about the case: They were called to an attempted suicide at a home the 1100 block of Paradise River Road. Upon their arrival at the address, a blood-soaked Hargrave came out of the home. He had slit his wrist in an attempt to kill himself.

Henderson Police detained Hargrave on a “Legal 2000,” a document that allows authorities to hold someone who may be a danger to himself or others. Hargrave was taken to University Medical Center for treatment of his injuries.

When a Metro sexual assault detective arrived at the hospital, Hargrave declined to be interviewed. He was placed under arrest and booked in abstentia. He has since been transferred to the county jail and is being held without bond. He is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday morning.

Metro said its investigation was continuing.