Roosevelt man seeks change of venue in child sex-abuse trial

The attorney for Brad R. Gale, the Uintah Basin bookstore owner accused of sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy over the course of several years, filed a motion Wednesday to have his client's case tried somewhere other than Duchesne or Uintah counties.

Citing intense media coverage since Gale's July 13 arrest, defense attorney Herb Gillespie asked 8th District Court Judge John R. Anderson to move the case to another jurisdiction.

"Attempting to seat an impartial, unbiased jury in Duchesne County, or even in Uintah County, would appear to be an expensive, time-consuming, and perhaps futile process," Gillespie wrote in an affidavit supporting his motion.

In the court filing, Gillespie argues that Gale's position as a "very prominent citizen of Roosevelt" who was "looked up to and respected" led to "almost universal shock and disbelief" when he was arrested and charged initially with 33 felonies stemming from allegations of child sex abuse.

Gillespie further argues that his client's reputation as a "religious" person has fueled public concerns that the 49-year-old will be treated with favoritism by the court and will "not receive the conviction and punishment" the public believes he deserves. As an example, the defense attorney pointed to the outrage expressed in letters to the editor published in the Uintah Basin Standard following Judge A. Lynn Payne's decision to reduce bail in the case from more than $375,000 to $20,000.

"To much of the public, which views bail as a barometer of the seriousness with which the court views the offense," Gillespie writes, "this great reduction in the amount of bail has appeared to increase the misperception that Mr. Gale is going to be slapped on the hands by the justice system and will be allowed to get off easy."

Gillespie also points to media coverage of the criminal charges filed against Deputy Duchesne County Attorney Roland Uresk in connection with the Gale case. Uresk was charged by the Utah Attorney General's Office with two misdemeanor counts of willful failure to report abuse. He is accused of having knowledge of the abuse allegedly committed by Gale but failing to inform law enforcement or the state Division of Child and Family Services.

"There are letters to the editor as well as editorials in the local paper commenting on the actions or inactions of Mr. Uresk," Gillespie writes, "all of which remind the public of the charges against Mr. Gale."

Uresk is due to appear in Salt Lake County Justice Court on Jan. 23 for a pretrial conference.