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CEDAR CITY — A former residential treatment center employee has been sentenced to 120 days in jail and four years of probation after pleading guilty to attempting to sexually assault one of the residents.
Kylar Fredrick Williams, 24, pleaded guilty on Aug. 8 to attempted forcible sexual abuse, a third-degree felony, involving a 14-year-old.
He was arrested and charged in February after accusations that he had kissed a client at Zion Hills Academy, where he was employed. Video footage and witnesses suggested he kissed the girl on multiple occasions, touched the girl's buttocks and shared a vape pen with her and other clients, charging documents said.
Williams was initially charged with sexual abuse of a minor, a class A misdemeanor, and three counts of providing tobacco to a minor, a class C misdemeanor. The sex abuse charge was later upgraded to forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony. As part of a plea deal, the misdemeanor charges were dropped and the abuse charge was reduced to a third-degree felony.
Zion Hills Academy said it reported the incident to police and Williams' employment was immediately terminated. Zion Hills Academy is a treatment facility in Cedar City, for girls between 12 and 17.
Based on the charge, 5th District Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen sentenced Williams Tuesday to a term of zero to five years in the Utah State Prison, but that sentence was suspended in lieu of jail and probation.