Ex-substitute gets probation for fondling girl

Christopher Benjamin Page, a former substitute teacher with the Granite School District, was sentenced Wednesday to 36 months of probation for sexual activity with a 13-year-old girl.

Page, 20, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual battery, both class A misdemeanors, as part of a plea bargain.

Third District Judge Stephen Roth imposed one-year jail terms for each count but suspended the jail time unless Page violates his probation. In that case, the jail terms are to run consecutively.

The judge ordered Page to perform 500 hours of community service, get a sex offender evaluation and comply with all recommended treatment, have no contact with the victim or her family, and pay a $1,000 fine.

Page originally was charged with one count of forcible sexual abuse, a first-degree felony, but that was reduced as part of the plea bargain.

Page, who lives in Salt Lake City, began working for the district when he was attending Skyline High School, helping with janitorial work at Churchill Junior High School, according to school district officials. That job eventually led to a substitute teaching position.

Page did not teach very long and was fired immediately after he was arrested. Police said they found him "in a state of undress" with the girl in a car in November 2008.

e-mail: lindat@desnews.com