LINDON — An officer responding to a crash involving five vehicles on I-15 in September opened the doors to a refrigerated tractor-trailer and saw two eyes looking back at him.
The driver of that tractor-trailer, Jacob Ortell Scott, of Huntington, has now pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated child abuse, a class A misdemeanor, admitting to driving his two sisters, ages 12 and 14.
He was sentenced on March 11 to one year in jail for each charge, but those jail terms were suspended by 4th District Judge Thomas Low in favor of two years of probation. In addition to the typical probation terms, he was ordered to take a parenting class and participate in family counseling.
Charges said the officer who noticed the eyes went to the driver's seat and asked Ortell, "Who is in your trailer?" and he "appeared to be shocked." It said he looked at the man in his passenger seat, and then looked back and told the officer "there are kids in the trailer."
It said there was no way for the girls to exit, and they were locked in the compartment for over three hours. The temperature was set to 30 degrees Fahrenheit, but when officers found the girls, the current reading was 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
According to charges, the girls said they had been transported in similar conditions in the past.
Ortell pleaded guilty under a plea deal that reduced the charges from first-degree felonies as he was initially charged.
