PROVO MAN SENTENCED IN SEXUAL ABUSE OF BOY

PFMLIT BOOK STORE, BOOK STORE, BOOK STORE OWNER, CHILD PORNOGRAPHY, General, SENTENCING, SEX OFFENDERS AND OTHERS COMMITTING CRIMES IN PUBLIC ESTABLISHMENTS, SEX OFFENDERS AND OTHERS COMMITTING RANDOM SEX CRIMES, SEX OFFENDERS AND OTHERS IN POSITIONS OF TRUST, STORES, STORES

John West, 76, was sent to jail Thursday for his involvement in the sexual abuse of a 15 year old boy.  West was sentenced on one count of attempted forcible sodomy, which had been amended from a first degree felony to a class A misdemeanor.  A charge of forcible sex abuse had already been dismissed.  During the summer of 2005, West allegedly allowed co-defendant Brad R. Gale, 49, into his Provo home to perform sexual activities with a boy while West watched.  West was sentenced to 270 days in the Utah County jail, but only two weeks will actually be served behind bars.  The remaining time can be served from home while on an ankle-monitoring system.  West must also pay almost $800 in fines, have no contact with the victim or his family, have no unsupervised contact with people under 18, and complete any therapy recommended by Adult Probation and Parole.  Gale, a bookstore owner from Roosevelt, is charged with forcible sodomy, a first degree felony and forcible sex abuse, a second degree felony.  Gale is also accused of abusing the same boy in the back room of his Roosevelt store, Gale's Office Supply and Books.  Gale pleaded guilty on January 30 to sexual exploitation of a child for the purposes of producing child pornography and will be sentenced in federal court on Thursday.

(Provo, Utah)