Comments about ‘Ex-seminary leader faces 21 felonies in sex case’

Anyone can fall - and fall hard. OUCH.

There's no time like the present to proclaim your innocence instead a bunch of lawyer-speak. It reminded me of Scott Peterson's lame excuses that he couldn't tell the truth--yet, but it would all come out later. He's now on death row. I hope he gets the appropriate punishment if he's convicted and not just a slap on the wrist.

This is why my kids won't go to seminary.

Agreed, your comment would lead folks to believe this is common place in Seminary or something? Do you send your kids to school? There are lots of teachers who have been arrested and/or convicted of sexual abuse of kids in Utah at regualar school so what are you saying? Is your comment just a pretext for some prejudice or something like that? - sounds like it to me.

Hi Honey, what did you learn at seminary today?

Ouch. Serious betrayal of trust.

Note to adults: Stop having sex with kids.

I can't believe they thought they'd actually get away with this. Was he so dumb not to think that at some point she'd tell her BFF? They both had to know it was wrong and that there would be severe consequences to pay. I wonder if she'll wait for him to get out of prison. I wonder if his wife will wait for him to get out of prison.

If this is true, it's terrible, but if it's not, then there has been a terrible injustice to this man. We had a recent case in our neighborhood where the girl admitted she made the whole thing up. All I'm saying is, please wait to condemn. This could just as easily be you.

Just 2 short months to go from husband, father, Seminary principal to sex offender. Was it worth it? What a terrible price to pay, loss of job, career, family, community support, church membership with it's attending blessings, freedom, self respect...DON'T DO IT-IT ISN'T WORTH IT!!!!

His sideburns and copious amount of hair gel are a dead giveaway to his lechery.

This is proof that it can happen to ANYBODY!
The fact that he was a seminary principal adds more salt to the wound. The evidence sounds convincing. His poor family!

And to "Agreed:" your comment was absurd!
My kids' Seminary instructors have been top notch!
This is truly the exception; not the rule!

I was all for giving him the benefit of the doubt until I saw him on TV. Instead of proclaiming his innocence or saying no comment on the advice of my attorney, he gives some lame namby pamby legal jargon. There is NEVER an inappropriate time to tell the truth when you've been accused of a crime, unless of course, you're guilty.

Its kind of hard to make everything up...they have text messages send to him and from him that were sexual in nature. Even if that is all he did, he should have all of the shame that is being placed on him now.

is KSL and Des news bringing up these hot button topics again within hours of each other. (this and the gays on temple square) Not enough hits on their websites? I think these comment blogs only serve to create more of a division between those in and out of the LDS church. It would be nice to see more news stories emphasizing our commonalities rather than differences.

Sorry about this whole issue but people make mistakes. A stake president caught with his pants down in the red light zone, a bishop running off with the relief society president. My opinion is that these kinds of news stories do no good for anyone. They serve no purpose but to increase ratings for the media. No one really NEEDS to know this stuff. I didn't even read this article fully because in the top paragraph it seemed to only repeat all of last week's story. Last week's was painful enough. Let people just go to the archives to read what happened.

Disagree with "this could just easily be you"/me. Absolutely not! I don't need the approval and the adoration of teens. I don't put myself in situations like Mr. Pratt. I am an adult with boundaries.

My sincere sympathies go to his wife and kids. They are the innocent victims here. Not only did he betray her, he dragged their family through the mud, with all this publicity and scandal. I can't believe he was so stupid as to not think this thing through. He should be looking forward to a family vacation and the holidays instead of prison time. he'll have a harder time finding a new job, now that he'll be required to register as a sex offender the rest of his life.

I cannot imagine the horror of realizing that you helped destroy a family. I cannot imagine the horror of realizing you will probably go to prison, your wife will divorce you, you've ruined your career and will be known as a sex offender the rest of your life. Hopefully the horror that his wife is experiencing right now will heal and this will eventually fade to just a terrible, vague memory as she moves on with her life and begins to heal and forgive those people who ruined her life.

Divisions between those in and out of the LDS church? I hope other LDS members are as enraged and as interested as I am in this story! Being charged with 21 felonies is horrible for a seminary teacher/person of trust! This is news and warning!

"Police arrested Pratt July 9, after they received information that he had allegedly been checking the girl out of school without her parents' permission..."
It appears that there may be a written record of impropriety at the school.

"Pratt took the girl to...the warm springs near Goshen, where they were also observed skinny dipping, according to a police affidavit."
And it appears that there may also be independent corroboration from a direct wirness of impropriety. In addition to the allegations of multiple sexually-oriented text messages between the two, the future doesn't look to good for Mr. Pratt.

This man is an American, who like all of us is presumed innocent until he is proven guilty.

It's all sad. The whole scenario. Also sad is how thoughtless some of these comments are.