Provo man OKs deal in sex-abuse case

PROVO — A Provo man accused of documenting sex abuse of children with a cell-phone camera has agreed to a plea deal, prosecutors say.

Jacabo Javier Rivera, 32, is charged in 4th District Court with seven felony counts, including sodomy of a child, rape of a child and aggravated sex abuse of a child. The images were discovered by Rivera's ex-girlfriend last April.

The plea deal allows Rivera to plead guilty to four charges — one for each of the children he sexually abused. In addition, his sentence for those crimes can be served concurrently with the time served for a federal sentence.

Rivera has been in custody since his arrested in April. However, in July 2005 he was charged in U.S. District Court of production of child pornography.

A plea deal was first offered in September, which Rivera declined, said Donna Kelly, a deputy Utah County attorney.

It's possible he wanted to avoid the added federal heat that would come if he already had convictions on his record from the 4th District case, Kelly said.

Rivera pleaded guilty to two counts of production of child pornography in federal court in April and will be sentenced on those charges Aug. 29.

Paige Benjamin, Rivera's attorney, asked that Rivera be able to enter his plea in the 4th District case after he is sentenced in the federal court system.