VERNAL — The case against a teenage girl who paid a man $150 to beat her in an effort to miscarry her unborn child has been dismissed.

In a ruling issued Friday, 8th District Juvenile Judge Larry A. Steele dismissed the petition against the girl, which contained one allegation of criminal solicitation to commit murder.

Steele, in a five-page decision, said the Utah code that defines abortion is "unambiguous" when it states, "A woman who is seeking to have or obtains an abortion for herself is not criminally liable."

"The Legislature would not approve of any court rewriting their statutes or finding loopholes around clearly stated statutes," Steele wrote in dismissing the case. "The relevant statute is not a loophole — it is a clearly stated rule of law."

Naples police said the girl, 17, encountered Arron N. 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.

Harrison punched the girl in the stomach as many as five times, slapped her on her face and bit her on the neck, according to court records. Police said the girl told them she wanted her injuries "to look like an accident or that she got assaulted."

Harrison, 21, pleaded guilty to attempted murder, a second-degree felony, for his role in the incident. But at a sentencing hearing on Oct. 27, 8th District Judge A. Lynn Payne decided that Harrison's conduct amounted to attempted killing of an unborn child, a third-degree felony, and sentenced the man to up to five years in prison.

The girl, who has since given birth, initially pleaded no contest to the criminal-solicitation charge, and Steele had ordered her to serve four years in secure confinement. But on Oct. 20, the judge released the girl from detention and allowed her to withdraw her guilty plea at the request of her new attorney.

Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman, has said he will take action to seek to have the Legislature amend the statute Steele cited in his ruling. Wimmer said he was "absolutely outraged" at the decision and plans to "close that loophole for good."

Uintah County prosecutors have 30 days to appeal Steele's ruling to dismiss the case. They were unavailable for comment Monday.

e-mail: gliesik@desnews.com