Judge sentences former therapist to 1 to 15 years in prison for sex abuse

Judge sentences former therapist to 1 to 15 years in prison for sex abuse

(Brian Nicholson, POOL)


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FARMINGTON — A Centerville therapist convicted of sexually abusing a 16-year-old female client was sentenced to prison Monday.

Second District Court Judge John R. Morris sentenced Scott Andrew Peterson, 36, of Bountiful, to up to 15 years at the Utah State Prison. Peterson will serve a minimum of one year after pleading guilty in January to one count of forcible sexual abuse, which was amended to a second-degree felony. Additional charges of forcible sexual abuse, forcible sodomy and lewdness were dismissed as part of his plea deal.

Peterson owned a clinic in Centerville called Therapy on the Fly, 1199 S. Main. He was a licensed clinical social worker who became the victim's therapist when she was 15. In 2013, when the girl was 16, the two engaged in sexual activity in his office more than a dozen times over the course of several months, according to prosecutors. The girl is now 17.

Peterson was arrested after the girl told her LDS Chuch bishop what had happened. The bishop reported the information to church attorneys, who contacted police.

Therapy on the Fly closed in August. Peterson was arrested in October. He surrendered his license to the Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing two days after his arrest.


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