Resolution near for Utah man accused in teen boy's kidnapping, sexual abuse?

A resolution may be near for an Ogden man accused of kidnapping and sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy.

Ryan Mitchell Schaffer, 34, is charged in 2nd District Court with four first-degree felonies — one charge of aggravated kidnapping and three charges of forcible sodomy. He is accused of kidnapping the victim from a train station and forcing the victim to commit sexual acts with him over several days in July.

A preliminary hearing was scheduled to begin Tuesday morning, but attorneys told 2nd District Judge Mark DeCaria that they were close to resolving the case and a preliminary hearing is likely not needed.

Schaffer will be back in court on April 7 for a disposition hearing.

Schaffer fled Utah after the alleged crime and was eventually arrested in California and had to be extradited back to the state.

Police say Schaffer approached the teen at a FrontRunner station on July 3 and threatened him with a knife. Schaffer allegedly took the boy all over Ogden over the next three days and forced the boy to have sex, sometimes at gunpoint.

Schaffer is a registered sex offender in Utah, stemming from a 2007 case in Salt Lake County in which he pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree felony exploitation of a minor.

jmiller@sltrib.com