Utah attorney charged with having sex with teen girl

SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah defense attorney has been charged with having sex with a minor.

Steven Kuhnhausen, 65, was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with eight counts of unlawful sexual conduct, a third-degree felony; and six counts of enticing a minor, a class A misdemeanor.

The alleged victim told investigators she met Kuhnhausen when she was 16 in October of 2012. She went to his Salt Lake City home to have sex, according to charging documents. From October through January, the teen said she had sex at least eight times with Kuhnhausen.

In January, Kuhnhausen purchased a cellphone for the girl and sent sexual text messages, with at least six of the messages asking her to engage in sexual activity with him, according to the charges.

Kuhnhausen, who deals mainly with personal injury, DUI and divorce cases, has been a member of the Utah State Bar since 1978. He graduated from the University of Utah Law School in 1977.

At one time, he represented members of the Singer family, including family matriarch Vickie Singer. In 1988, he represented Hans Benjamin Singer, the 15-year-old son of Vickie and John Singer, in a civil contempt of court case for not testifying about family members.

An arrest warrant was issued Tuesday. He was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail the same day and posted bail. He was ordered to make an initial court appearance on March 11, according to court records.

Police also served a search warrant on Kuhnhausen's home and found marijuana and drug paraphernalia. He was arrested for investigation of the drug charges in addition to the warrant.

E-mail: preavy@desnews.com

Twitter: DNewsCrimeTeam