Gov. Herbert's son accused of stalking sister of woman from previous stalking case

PROVO — Gov. Gary Herbert's oldest son appeared in court Wednesday to face a civil stalking injunction — the second one filed against him in five years.

Family members of the alleged victims say Nathan Herbert, 39, has recently been stalking and harassing the younger sister of a woman he was charged with stalking in 2005.

"This is a repeated offense that needs to be stopped," said Maraia Weingarten, the mother of the alleged victims.

A temporary stalking injunction was filed against Nathan Herbert on Aug. 10. Nathan Herbert's attorney filed a motion to seal the new case against his client, and a hearing was requested. Despite objections from the Deseret News and other news organizations, the hearing Wednesday began with a closed-door meeting to discuss whether the records should be sealed, just as the 2005 case against Nathan Herbert was sealed.

Fourth District Judge James Taylor set another hearing for Oct. 15 and invited news organizations to file motions if they wish to contest the sealing of the court files.

Until that hearing, Taylor ruled that the current stalking injunction against Nathan Herbert will remain in place. A court docket concerning Nathan Herbert's latest stalking injunction was removed from the court's website following the hearing.

Bob and Maraia Weingarten said Nathan Herbert started stalking their older daughter after she went on a date with him at BYU several years ago.

"It was one date," Bob Weingarten said. "Within five minutes she said, 'Please take me home.' She felt uncomfortable."

The Weingartens say Nathan Herbert then began stalking the woman, repeatedly following her at the gym, BYU, Utah Valley University and other places. In 2005, he blocked her car from leaving a parking lot, got out and choked her, they said.

Nathan Herbert was charged with simple assault, a class B misdemeanor, in that case. The charge was dismissed a year and a half later, but court records do not indicate why.

Nathan Herbert was also charged with stalking, a class A misdemeanor, in 2005. Both sisters were at one point subpoenaed to testify against him, court records indicate. Nathan Herbert was given a "plea in abeyance," meaning his no contest plea could be withdrawn and the charge dismissed after a year if certain terms were met.