Overview

• SB213, enacted in March 2024, amended Utah’s statutory sexual offense framework so that 18-year-olds enrolled in high school now face a third-degree unlawful sexual activity charge instead of child rape.
• Though the law is not retroactive, prosecutors told a judge that SB213 influenced a plea deal that spared the accused relative of Senate President J. Stuart Adams from further incarceration and sex-offender registration.
• Investigations by Newsweek and Raw Story on August 5 raised fresh conflict-of-interest questions over Adams’ asserted noninvolvement in legislation he did not sponsor.
• Adams has publicly denied any role in requesting or drafting SB213 to benefit his relative’s case, saying he did not intervene despite awareness of the prosecution.
• The mother of the 13-year-old victim argues that the law’s timing and application undermined equal justice and has called for greater transparency in the legislative process.