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SALT LAKE CITY — After attorneys suggested probation for a caretaker who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a disabled girl he was hired to help, a judge decided to take time to consider whether to follow their recommendation.
"It's a really serious charge," 3rd District Judge Dianna Gibson said.
Gibson verified with the attorneys that she had not already agreed to the terms of the plea before setting another hearing on Oct. 5 for Herbert Calvin Mataele, when she will give him his sentence.
On Friday, Mataele, 56, appeared before the court in a blue jumpsuit and told the judge he knows he made a mistake and he regrets that.
"I realize what I did was wrong," he said.
He told the judge he was grateful for his time in jail and asked her for a second chance — to be sentenced to probation so he can prove to the court he has changed.
Mataele was initially charged with two counts of object rape, a first-degree felony, and eight counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony. Most of these charges were dismissed as part of the plea deal in which he pleaded guilty only to attempted object rape, a first-degree felony.
Salt Lake District deputy attorney Ryan Hansen said since Mataele pleaded guilty to attempted object rape, the presumptive sentence is between three years and life in prison, but the attorneys had agreed to recommend jail time, which is less than the time he has served, and probation.
Mataele has been held in the Salt Lake County Jail since the charges were filed, a total of 511 days.
He was hired as a caretaker for a 14-year-old girl who functions on the level of a 7- or 8-year-old, according to charging documents. Her mother set up nanny cams around the home to monitor the girl's activities. In April 2022 the cameras instead captured sexual abuse, charges state.
When questioned by detectives, Mataele claimed he unintentionally touched the girl inappropriately about three to four weeks earlier, but that since then, he continued to do it purposely because he was "physically attracted" to the girl, according to the charges.
Hansen read a statement from the victim, who said she wants Mataele to stay locked up and does not want to see him again, and from the victim's guardian.
The guardian's statement said the victim had been to counseling before Mataele cared for her to work through another abusive situation and build trust in her caregivers. She said she relied on Mataele while she was going through a stressful time.
"I feel so stupid now, knowing that what he had been doing to her had been going on for months before I caught it," she said in the statement.
She talked about times when Mataele would take the 14-year-old to the library or the park, and now she doesn't know if the girl was being abused during those times. The guardian said when she saw the abuse on the camera the sight stuck with her.
"Every time I closed my eyes I could see it, I can still see it, I can never unsee it," she said.
Now, the guardian said the girl feels like she can't trust anyone else, and she fights with her therapist and is making little progress in dealing with her trauma.
"She lives with it in her mind like a fresh wound every day," the guardian said.
Hansen explained that because the victim has the mental capacity of a third grader, prosecutors were concerned with putting her on the stand at a trial, which is why they offered a deal that could lead to probation instead of prison. He said under the deal, Mataele will be on the sex offender registry for the rest of his life, and that with probation he would still have the suspended prison sentence hanging over him.
Mataele's attorney, Ralph Dellapiana, said his client has not had any prior criminal history but said there is nothing to excuse his behavior here.
"It was all taking advantage of a disabled girl," he said.
Dellapiana said his client has expressed remorse and sought therapy while he has been in jail.
