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FARMINGTON — A former analyst in the state Planning and Budget Office facing child sex abuse allegations has pleaded guilty to two of the charges.
Stephen J. Coleman, 40, pleaded guilty earlier this month to one count of attempted sodomy of a child and aggravated sexual abuse of a child, first-degree felonies, in 2nd District Court.
Coleman was initially charged with three counts of sodomy of a child and six counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, all first-degree felonies. The additional charges were dismissed in exchange for the man's plea.
Coleman was abusing two females with whom he was "in a position of special trust," the charges state, between January of 2009 and March 2011.
Police were notified of the abuse in March by the Division of Child and Family Services, which became involved after receiving a call from a concerned third party who knows the family. Coleman was arrested at his office in the Utah state Capitol later that day.
A month later, an official said Coleman was no longer employed by the state. Coleman had been on the governor's staff since 2009, but he reported to the state's budget director and not to Gov. Gary Herbert personally.
He will be sentenced July 26.
Email:emorgan@ksl.com
