Utah Bans Polygraph Tests for Those Reporting Sexual Assault

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed legislation Thursday prohibiting police and government officials from requesting polygraph tests from people reporting sexual assault, with the law taking effect in May. State Rep. Angela Romero, the House minority leader, sponsored the bill after a 2016 case in which a man's polygraph test results were interpreted as deceptive when he reported therapist Scott Owen for sexual abuse, leading him to drop his complaint while Owen continued practicing for two more years. Experts say polygraph tests are unreliable with trauma victims because stress and anxiety about recounting assault can be misinterpreted as deception; half of U.S. states already prohibit the practice. Owen was eventually imprisoned in February 2025 after pleading guilty to sexually abusing patients, sentencing him to at least 15 years. The state is also forming a task force to review sexual misconduct complaints against licensed professionals in health care, mental health, and massage therapy, and to develop a standardized process for sharing reports among state agencies.