Man pleads not guilty to abuse, after confessing

PROVO — A Utah County man pleaded not guilty Tuesday in 4th District Court to charges of sex abuse and forcible sodomy.

Jesus Partida, 34, is charged with 11 counts of forcible sex abuse and four counts of forcible sodomy for allegedly sexually abusing women in the Heritage Care Center in American Fork.

However, Partida's attorney, Joseph Jardine, also filed a motion Tuesday asking that Partida's confession be excluded, which would likely force prosecutors to drop the charges. Partida, who has no criminal history, turned himself in to police last August.

American Fork police officers say he told them he had sexually abused the elderly women, according to police reports filed in court.

The women had either dementia or Alzheimer's disease, according to court documents. Most have since died.

In the motion, Jardine said Partida asked that an attorney be present when he was speaking with police. The police officer told Partida an attorney would not be necessary and talked Partida out of the idea of having legal counsel present, according to the motion.

Jardine's motion also said Partida was not advised of his Miranda rights and that police coerced incriminating statements.

"Apart from defendant's statements, no other evidence whatsoever exists in this case that any harm occurred which was caused by someone's criminal activity," Jardine wrote in the motion.

Jardine also noted in his motion a Supreme Court ruling that says a suspect cannot be convicted based only on his or her own confession.

The case will be heard again on the Sept. 26, when Jardine and prosecutors will argue the merits of the motion and discuss why the case should or shouldn't continue.

A trial was tentatively set for Oct. 11-12.

Partida has been in custody at the Utah County Jail since his arrest last August.

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