Davis County jury finds ex-Roy firefighter guilty of 3 felony sexual abuse counts

BOUNTIFUL — A Davis County jury found a former Roy firefighter guilty of three felony counts of sexual abuse involving a child, for which he'll face sentencing next month.

The jury found Ryan Rampton, 59, guilty on Friday of two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child and a count of sodomy on a child at the 2nd District Court courthouse in Bountiful after a four-day trial that ended that same day. All the charges, filed on Oct. 10, 2025, are first-degree felonies and sentencing is set for Dec. 7.

The incidents occurred between 2013 and 2017 in Syracuse, where Rampton lived. The victim was 4 to 8 years old at the time.

The victim initially reported the sexual abuse to authorities in 2017, but the case stalled at the time because she was not comfortable discussing the matter with the male detective handling the case. Authorities received a follow-up report in March 2025, when the case was revived.

"The victim reported she wanted to report the abuse for several reasons, including that she does not want the defendant to hurt any other girls and reported the defendant has a photo studio at his residence where he does photoshoots for young girls where they change into princess costumes and are photographed," read the original charging documents.

Rampton resigned his post at the Roy Fire Department after his arrest last year and the department issued a statement at the time, distancing itself from him.

"We ask the public and media to recognize that this isolated incident does not define our department or its mission. The conduct and allegations in question are deeply troubling and wholly inconsistent with our standards," Roy Fire Chief Theron Williams said in a statement on Oct. 29, 2025.

Rampton started working for the Roy Fire Department in 2023, also serving as a paramedic, and previously worked as a firefighter for the North Davis Fire District, based in West Point, according to an online database of public employees in Utah managed by the state. The records also show he worked as a firefighter in Riverdale and as an emergency medical technician in Morgan County.