Counseling-center worker sentenced to prison for sex offenses

TOOELE — Judge Stephen Henriod didn't mince words Tuesday when sentencing a house parent at a center for emotionally troubled teens who admitted he repeatedly had sex with a 17-year-old girl.

The 3rd District judge termed Jonathan Carver's rationalizations for his behavior "disgusting" and "reprehensible," and sentenced Carver to serve five to 30 years behind bars.

Henriod, who has been on the bench for 15 years, called Carver's admissions to evaluators "the most dishonest exhibition of a defendant" he had ever seen.

"I think he was lying throughout his psychosexual and pre-sentence reports, and that is not unusual," the judge said. "But I've never seen it to the extent I have with Mr. Carver."

The girl's father had equally harsh words.

"Make no mistake — we are in the presence of evil right now," the father said. "He will always be an enemy of my family."

Carver, 29, formerly worked with his wife at Alpine Academy as house parents in a residential center for teenagers who have psychological difficulties. The academy provides counseling and treatment, while the house parents are hired to offer daily supervision and to provide a family-like atmosphere.

The girl's parents brought her from Georgia to Alpine Academy, trusting that the agency could help their daughter, most particularly with a problem in setting boundaries.

Prior to Tuesday's sentencing, Carver had pleaded guilty to five counts of forcible sexual abuse, which were amended to second-degree felonies as part of a plea bargain. A charge of third-degree felony witness tampering was dismissed.

Henriod appeared especially offended by Carver on one hand saying he has taken responsibility for his actions and on the other, in a five-page written statement, blaming the underage girl for "pushing herself on him" while Carver himself was "weak."

"He blames the victim over and over and over and over," Henriod said. "She pushed herself on him? That is reprehensible and disgusting, Mr. Carver. You are unhappy you got caught. I do think you're a danger to the community and children."