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PLAIN CITY, Weber County — The Weber County Sheriff's Office says investigators are still going through hundreds of VHS tapes owned by a man accused of sexually abusing a boy, but as of Wednesday, they had not found any evidence of child pornography.
Bart Duane Fife, 56, of Plain City, was charged March 15 in 2nd District Court with five counts of sodomy on a child and five counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, all first-degree felonies.
The alleged victim, now an adult, told authorities that Fife sexually abused him from March 2004 to November 2005 when he was 9 and 10 years old, according to charging documents.
"The complainant disclosed that he and (Fife) spent time together as part of a youth mentorship program and that the abuse started after he caught (Fife) watching a pornographic video," the charges state. "The complainant stated that he and (Fife) were matched together in the mentorship program for months and that the sexual abuse occurred throughout the entire time."
On March 14, Fife was interviewed by sheriff's detectives and "admitted to multiple incidents" of abuse, according to the charges.
Investigators then served a search warrant on Fife's home. According to the warrant, the pornographic video the victim allegedly caught Fife watching that started the year of abuse was a "VHS video that appeared to be homemade. There was an image of Fife and another person showing (their) genitals with their pants down."
Detectives seized more than 760 VHS tapes from Fife's house, the warrant states, and more than 175 DVDs. As of Wednesday, investigators were still going through each one. Deputies also seized an award and a certificate from Big Brothers Big Sisters organization, the warrant states.
Fife's next court hearing is scheduled for May 7.
