1444: J. Stuart Adams

J. Stuart Adams is the Republican President of the Utah State Senate. He told a colleague, Sen. Kirk Cullimore, about his granddaughter’s legal troubles (charged with child rape and child sodomy) and asked him to look into changing the Romeo-Juliet Law.

She was 18 and raped a thirteen-year-old minor, outside the Romeo-Juliet exemption that recognizes teen romances where one partner is technically and adult. However, the usual age difference allowed is 3 or 4 years. She was charged with two counts of child rape and two counts of child sodomy. Mandatory sentencing required some jail time and registering as a sex offender. She would not agree to a plea deal requiring registering as a sex offender.

Cullimore asked his granddaughter’s lawyer what would be ideal and the granddaughter’s lawyer actually drafted the language. He introduced a bill to allow for third-degree charges for raping a minor. Adams did not disclose to his other colleagues or the governor that the law would benefit his granddaughter.

The prosecutor, when speaking about the issue, said that the law’s passage allowed him to advocate for a lesser sentence that allowed Adams’ granddaughter to avoid prison and did not require her to register as a sex offender. She pleaded guilty to assault and sexual battery (a misdemeanor) and was sentenced to four years probation. The judge, prosecutor and defense attorney all agreed that the legislative change did impact how the charges were resolved.

It is interesting that journalists very carefully do not identify the convicted adult felon who is his granddaughter, treating her like the victim rather than the perpetrator of a serious sex crime.

• Salt Lake Tribune: Utah Senate Pres. Stuart Adams spurred law change that helped teen charged with child rape
• Salt Lake Tribune: Utah conservatives call for GOP Senate president to step down during Capitol rally
• KSL: Stuart Adams won’t resign over claims he influenced new law to help granddaughter