Former state budget analyst sentenced to prison for sex abuse

FARMINGTON — A former analyst in the state Office of Planning and Budget was ordered to spend at least 15 years in prison for child sex abuse charges.

Stephen J. Coleman, 40, was sentenced Tuesday by 2nd District Judge Glen Dawson for both attempted sodomy of a child and aggravated sexual abuse of a child, first-degree felonies.

Dawson ordered the two 15-years-to-life prison terms to run concurrent and ordered that the restitution in the case remain open.

Coleman was initially charged with three counts of sodomy of a child and six counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, all first-degree felonies, but the additional charges were dismissed when the man pleaded guilty in June. Coleman was abusing two females with whom he was "in a position of special trust," the charges state, between January of 2009 and March 2011.

Police were notified of the abuse in March by the Division of Child and Family Services, which became involved after receiving a call from a concerned third party who knows the family. Coleman was arrested at his office in the state Capitol.

A month later, an official said Coleman was no longer employed by the state. Coleman had been on the governor's budget staff since 2009, but he reported to the state's budget director and not to Gov. Gary Herbert personally.

— Emiley Morgan

Twitter: DNewsCrimeTeam