2 plead guilty in sex case

Two former members of the Tooele High School baseball team have pleaded guilty to a felony charge in connection with a sexual situation involving a minor girl on a road trip to St. George last year.

As part of a plea bargain, Matthew Gomez and Shane Leonelli, now both 19, each pleaded guilty Monday to one count of third-degree felony dealing in material harmful to a minor.

Gomez also was charged with one count of class B misdemeanor sodomy, later dismissed.

Gomez and Leonelli, along with four juvenile teammates, were charged in connection with sexual misconduct with a 15-year-old girl in a St. George hotel room where the incident was videotaped. The team had traveled there for a tournament.

The girl was involved in sexual activity with several of the boys after the team was supposed to have retired for the night. Prosecutors said the girl was not forced, but on the videotape, she appeared hesitant at first and, in the eyes of prosecutors, she was a victim.

Third District Judge Randall Skanchy sentenced Gomez and Leonelli to 14 days in jail beginning today and a year of probation. The young men also were ordered to write a letter of apology to the victim and were fined $750 each, but that can be offset dollar-for-dollar by the expense of counseling.

"I think this was a completely appropriate resolution," said Deputy Tooele County Attorney Gary Searle. "These boys made a huge error in judgment; they will be the first to tell you that. We didn't feel this should affect them for the rest of their lives.

"My office doesn't think they are pedophiles or a danger to the community," Searle said. "They were just 18 when this happened, the girl was two weeks short of 16. It had a significant impact on their lives, the school and the community. This resolution will put this to rest and the community can begin to heal from it."

Searle said his office had been in contact with the victim and she wanted the matter resolved short of going to trial.

The four juveniles entered into plea bargains in 3rd District Juvenile Court on Feb. 17. Two pleaded guilty to third-degree felony attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, and two pleaded guilty to third-degree felony possession of harmful materials.

Each got either three days detention or jail time, were put on probation for six months, fined $500, ordered to apologize to the school and the victim, and required to get mental health evaluations if necessary.

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E-mail: lindat@desnews.com