New trial for Logan teacher accused of sex abuse

A former Logan elementary school teacher accused of sexually abusing a student will be retried in May 2007.

Lawyers met Monday to set a trial date for Alan Roy Willey. A judge in Logan's 1st District Court set a four day trial beginning May 9.

Willey, 52, is charged with nine counts of aggravated sex abuse of a child, a first-degree felony. Cache County prosecutors claim he molested a male student back in 1994 when the victim was in Willey's fourth-grade class.

Logan police said the victim claimed the abuse happened almost daily during the school year. The man — who is now in his 20s — did not come forward to police until earlier this year.

Willey's trial ended in a mistrial last month when jury members deadlocked 4-4 on whether to convict or acquit him.

Meanwhile, St. George police confirmed they have opened a criminal investigation into allegations of sexual abuse against Willey.

Willey was a teacher at St. George's East Elementary in the 1980s. Police said they had received information from Cache County authorities about Willey.

"In the trial up there, they had at least two males come forward from the St. George-area and say they were abused down here," St. George Police Sgt. Craig Harding said Tuesday. "They contacted us and gave us their information and their statements."

Harding said investigators plan to question the two men and then forward the case to the Washington County Attorney's Office to screen for any possible charges.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com