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- Utah's child torture law, in effect since May, has been targeting severe child abuse cases statewide.
- Salt Lake County has filed five cases, with eight adults facing charges for harming eight children.
- Critics argue the law's broadness and mandatory sentences may lead to over-punishment.
SALT LAKE CITY — A new Utah law that provides harsher penalties for severe cases of child abuse has been put to use several times since it went into effect nearly eight months ago.
The cases charged under Utah's new child torture law each include gruesome, disturbing claims. In one case, prosecutors say a 5-year-old child had the body weight of a 16-month-old and was so deprived of food the child had started eating feces. Another child reported being forced to stand in a corner for eight hours at a time and run hundreds of laps as punishment. The allegations include children caged, starved, beaten and even burned.
"It's a tool that captures the kind of injury that was happening before, but we just didn't have a way to articulate it and to differentiate it," said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill.
Gill's office filed the first five cases with child torture charges in the state. In some cases, there are multiple defendants and victims. In total, the five Salt Lake County cases include eight adult defendants and eight child victims.
The latest case in Salt Lake County is filed against a father who took his three young children on a hike during a blizzard. Prosecutors said he refused to turn back and left an 8-year-old to perform CPR on a younger sibling who'd stopped breathing.
"Well, this child is going to remember that experience which that parent didn't need to inflict," said Gill.
While child abuse cases typically revolve around physical injury, Gill said the child torture statute is different in that it takes into account psychological harm.
"We knew there was a gap that was there," said Gill.
The law, which went into effect in May, was prompted in part by the high-profile child abuse case involving YouTube vlogger mom Ruby Franke and former therapist Jodi Hildebrandt. Supporters of the new law said the system needed a better way to hold child abusers accountable in extreme cases.
Related:
New Utah laws will help hold child abusers accountable, district attorney says
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill is shedding light on efforts to better support survivors through legal action and community resources.The law defines child torture as when a person "intentionally or knowingly causes or permits another to inflict upon the child: a serious injury that is inflicted in an exceptionally cruel or exceptionally depraved manner that causes the child to experience extreme physical or psychological pain or anguish; or a serious injury, or more than one serious injury, as part of a course of conduct or over a prolonged period of time."
Richard Mauro, executive director of the Salt Lake Legal Defender Association, said defense attorneys are concerned the statute is too broad. And he worries "psychological pain or anguish" is not well defined.
"There's nobody that's in favor of child torture or child abuse," he said. "It's whether or not you have a criminal legal system that creates the right kind of penalties for the right kind of offenses and whether or not you're overpunishing people for some things that are charged under that statute that before weren't charged under that statute."
Mauro also said opponents believe the statute's mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years takes discretion away from judges. The law does, however, allow for a judge to drop the mandatory minimum sentence to seven or even four years if they find a lesser prison sentence is in the interest of justice.
"The child torture statute has the potential of creating these unpredictable prosecutions for conduct that might be punished at a much lower level right now. That's what we're seeing, and that's the concern," said Mauro. "Whether or not that bears fruit in the long run, we'll see."
In response to concerns that prosecutors might overuse the new law, Gill said his office uses a multidisciplinary team to screen the cases, which includes medical and pediatric experts.
"We're trying to be very thoughtful and deliberate about that to recognize that kind of trauma that is present within the context of also the physical abuse that may be happening," said Gill. "So, you've got medical, pediatric, those type of experts in the room when you're deciding whether to charge someone with torture."
Earlier this week, Utah saw a child torture case filed outside of Salt Lake County. Moab police say an 11-year-old boy was found to be severely malnourished. His father, stepmother, and stepbrother are now facing charges.
"This is more than just child abuse," said Moab Police Chief Lex Bell.
The case brings the total across the state to six in nearly eight months since the child torture law went into effect.
Child abuse resources:
- Utah Domestic Violence Coalition operates a confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic abuse hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465). Resources are also available online: udvc.org. The statewide child abuse and neglect hotline is 1-855-323-DCFS (3237).
- The Utah Division of Child and Family Services offers counseling, teaches parenting skills and conflict resolution and can connect families with community resources. Its goal is to keep children with their family when it is "possible and safe." Visit dcfs.utah.gov/contact-us/ or call 801-538-4100.
- The Christmas Box House acts as a temporary shelter for children and can provide them with new clothing and shoes, among other services. Call the Salt Lake office at 801-747-2201 or the Ogden office at 801-866-0350.
