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‪Nita Cosby‬
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The Republican president of Utah's Senate managed to change consent laws after a relative was accused of raping a 13-year-old. www.rawstory.com/utah-republi...

GOP Senate chief changed consent law as relative faced rape charge involving 13-year-old
The Republican president of Utah's Senate managed to change consent laws after a relative was accused of raping a 13-year-old. Newsweek reported a Salt Lake City Tribune piece that Senate President J....
www.rawstory.com
August 5, 2025 at 9:05 PM

Utah’s Senate president prompted law change that helped a teen charged with child rape

The case may reopen debate among lawmakers about how to respond when older teens have sex with kids too young to consent

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(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, addresses the Utah Senate during the legislative session at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, March 5, 2025.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune)

Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, addresses the Utah Senate during the legislative session at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, March 5, 2025.

Robert Gehrke | Aug. 2, 2025, 9:00 a.m. | Updated: Aug. 4, 2025, 12:23 p.m.

Last year, an 18-year-old Utahn was staring at the potential of years in prison, accused of having sex with a 13-year-old. … Plea bargain negotiations were at an impasse. Then the Utah Legislature — based on an initial suggestion from Senate President J. Stuart Adams — changed the law.

Two months later, prosecutors offered the 18-year-old, who is related to Adams, a plea deal. The teen would plead guilty to reduced charges, face no additional jail time beyond a week already served, and would not have to register as a sex offender. … The new law was not made retroactive, and the teenager was not charged with the new lower-level crime it created. But in court hearings, the judge, the prosecutor and defense attorney Cara Tangaro — who helped draft the bill language that was adopted by the Legislature — all acknowledged it was pivotal to resolving the charges against the 18-year-old.

“You saw the legislative change,” Tangaro told Judge Rita Cornish at sentencing. “We all agree that’s not retroactive, but the government did change their offer based on that.” … The change in the law created a new option for prosecutors in narrow circumstances, specifically in cases that involve 13-year-old victims.

Seventeen-year-olds who have sex with 13-year-olds face a third-degree felony charge of unlawful sexual activity; the new law now allows prosecutors to file that same charge against an 18-year-old — if they are an enrolled high school student. … Previously, as adults, 18-year-old high school students who had sex with a 13-year-old could face a charge of child rape, a first-degree felony. A conviction on that charge generally requires registration as a sex offender, while a conviction on the newly created lesser charge does not.

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