'Diaper Boy' arrested again in White City

WHITE CITY — A man known by law enforcement as "Diaper Boy" because of his history of showing off his diapers to young children, was arrested again Thursday.

Barton Jason Lewis Bagnes, 31, has been arrested several times in the past for allegedly showing a baby diaper that the 5-foot-3, 100-pound Bagnes wears, to young children. He is also a registered sex offender due to a conviction in 2000 of lewdness involving a child.

In the latest incident, sheriff's deputies responded to a call near 10300 South and 800 East just before 7 p.m. Thursday, after a caller reported an adult showing his diaper to children.

"Several witnesses and young children said he had pulled his shirt up to his upper chest, exposing his torso with his shorts down to his knees, exposing his infant diaper that he had taped on his groin area, to children as he leaned his hips forward," according to a Salt Lake County Jail report.

What made Thursday's incident unique from the others was that Bagnes was passing out fliers for a Web site that shows children in diapers, said Salt Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Don Hutson. Some of the children appeared to be older than what would be considered the normal age for a diaper-wearing child. The sheriff's office kept one of the fliers as evidence, Hutson said.

Bagnes was booked into the jail for investigation of felony lewdness involving a child and disorderly conduct.

Despite his 2000 conviction, very few of Bagnes' subsequent arrests have stuck.

In 2008, Bagnes was charged with 11 misdemeanor counts of lewdness involving a child for a 2007 incident. That same year, he was charged in August for three felony counts of lewdness involving a child in a separate incident. All charges were eventually dismissed because the crime did not fit the criteria of the charges. Part of that was due to the fact no genitalia were exposed.

Despite his recent releases, Hutson said the sheriff's office would continue to arrest him every time he displays his diapers to children.

"We've been instructed by the DA to bring each case to them," Hutson said.

Some argue that what Bagnes is doing is no worse than a teen who wears his pants really low, exposing his boxer shorts. Hutson and the sheriff's office disagree.

"The shock value is what's different. A person with saggy pants is indiscriminately showing it to everyone. (Bagnes) is not wanting to show it to everybody. He's only going up to a select group, specifically small children," he said. "It's very concerning."

In 1999, Bagnes was convicted of two misdemeanor counts of lewdness involving a child, according to court records. One of those counts was amended from a felony to a misdemeanor as part of a plea bargain, court records state.

In 2000, he again pleaded guilty to misdemeanor lewdness involving a child, according to court records.

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