Confessed abuser says he lied to end marriage

PROVO — A man who confessed to police that he sexually abused ill, elderly women at a care center where he worked told a judge Thursday he concocted the story so his wife would divorce him.

Jesus Partida, 34, is scheduled to stand trial next week on felony sex-abuse charges, but the case won't go forward until 4th District Court Judge Steven Hansen rules on whether his confession is trustworthy and can be used at trial as evidence.

It's a rare legal question, largely because Partida's confession is the only evidence in the case. No physical evidence of the sexual abuse was obtained.

The case could end up being dismissed if the judge says the confession can't be used as evidence.

Partida is charged with 11 counts of second-degree felony forcible sex abuse and four counts of forcible sodomy, a first-degree felony.

American Fork police detective B.J. Eckles testified that Partida voluntarily approached police last July. The detective said Partida told them he sexually abused 10 elderly women at the Heritage Care Center in American Fork.

All the women suffered from either dementia or Alzheimer's, and most have since died.

However, defense attorney Joseph Jardine argues that Partida's confession should be thrown out because he now admits he told the lie to get out of a failing marriage.

"I was trying to find an excuse to get out of my marriage," Partida testified Thursday. "Abuse was one of the reasons to get a divorce."

Jardine and prosecutor Dave Sturgill argued over case law, which has changed with respect to a prosecutor's responsibilities in dealing with confessions.

In the past, prosecutors had to present evidence of a crime that appeared to support a confession. That was to prevent an individual from, for some reason, confessing and being punished for a crime they didn't commit.

However, a 2003 Utah Supreme Court ruling says a prosecutor can present a confession — minus evidence — after proving its trustworthiness and supporting it with other corroborating factors.

Those factors include the circumstances of the confession, the mental and physical health of the confessor and the absence of coercion to get the confession.

Consistency in repeated confessions is also a factor, which Jardine argues wasn't there with Partida's stories.