Prosecutor won't let beating-miscarriage case drop

Prosecutors will fight a motion to dismiss a case against a teenager who allegedly hired a man to beat her in an effort to cause a miscarriage, despite a judge's ruling that the girl's solicitation of the assault does not constitute a crime.

Uintah deputy county attorney Mike Drechsel told the Deseret News on Friday that his office has contacted the Utah Attorney General's Office for guidance following a ruling by 8th District Juvenile Court Judge Larry A. Steele.

In his ruling, Steele wrote that while the girl's actions were "shocking and crude," they were, nonetheless, legal under Utah's current definition of abortion.

"My intention is not to let this drop," Drechsel said. "I think Judge Steele interpreted and applied things incorrectly. That's not to say that I don't understand why he came to the conclusion he did or why he would.

"I can't imagine that this is the right conclusion for a case like this," the prosecutor added.

In his Oct. 8 ruling, which has angered at least one Utah lawmaker, Steele granted a defense request to allow the 17-year-old girl to withdraw her no-contest plea to one count of criminal solicitation to commit murder. He also ordered that the girl be released from a detention center.

A defense motion to dismiss the charge against her has been filed.

In reaching his decision, Steele cited the Utah code that defines abortion as "the intentional termination or attempted termination of human pregnancy … and includes any and all procedures undertaken to kill a live unborn child and includes all procedures undertaken to produce a miscarriage."

Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman, said he is already taking action to amend the statute cited by Steele in his ruling. Wimmer said he was "absolutely outraged" at the decision and plans to "close that loophole for good."

Naples police said the girl encountered Arron Nathaneal Harrison on May 20 as they walked past each other on the street. They talked briefly before she offered to pay him $150 to beat her, in the hopes that she would miscarry her baby, investigators said.

"According to (the girl), Arron punched her in the stomach about five times, slapped her on her face and bit her on the neck," court records state. "(The girl) stated that she wanted (it) to look like an accident or that she got assaulted."

The girl, who has since given birth, pleaded no contest to the criminal solicitation charge, and Steele ordered her to serve four years in secure confinement.

Harrison, 21, of Naples, has pleaded guilty to one count of attempted murder, a second-degree felony, for his role in the orchestrated attack. He is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 27.

Prosecutor G. Mark Thomas said he doesn't expect Steele's decision in the girl's case to impact Harrison's case.

"My understanding of the ruling is that the judge relied upon some statutory language that specifically relates to the woman carrying the child," Thomas said. "That has no application to Arron. Even if he were (a medical professional), the statute is fairly clear on the limitations that medical professionals have."

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