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TOOELE — A youth leader at a Tooele church was sentenced to four years of probation after pleading guilty to participating in sexual activities with a 14-year-old member of the congregation.
Zachary Dale Park, 20, pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor, a third-degree felony, on Tuesday as part of a plea deal. Park was initially charged with six second-degree felony counts of forcible sexual abuse.
Park was a youth leader at the New Life Christian Fellowship and met weekly with several youth from the congregation. A 14-year-old boy in the youth group told police that he and Park had engaged in sexual activities multiple times, including watching pornography and inappropriate touching, according to a police affidavit filed in court.
The senior pastor of the church, Mark Runyon, told KSL in September that he reported Park to the police as soon as he heard about the allegations. He said Park did not hold an official church title. The church was helping the victim to obtain professional help.
Prosecutors recommended 18 months of probation, and that the charges be reduced to class A misdemeanors after the probation is completed.
The judge followed the recommendation to suspend a prison sentence of zero to five years for each charge, but instead ordered probation for 48 months.
Park will also be required to comply with recommendations from a psychosexual evaluation he completed as part of the case, which includes not having contact with minor children except when approved and completing sex offender treatments.
