Overview

• SB213, enacted in March 2024, remains in effect and was cited by prosecutors to reduce the 18-year-old’s potential child rape charge to third-degree unlawful sexual activity.
• In court hearings before Judge Rita Cornish, both prosecutor Cara Tangaro and the defense confirmed that the law’s extension of the lesser charge directly influenced the plea offer.
• Senate President J. Stuart Adams maintains he neither requested nor drafted SB213 for personal benefit, despite acknowledging he raised the case during legislative discussions.
• The mother of the 13-year-old victim criticized the outcome as special treatment that undermines equal justice under Utah’s consent laws.
• The controversy has spurred calls for tighter legislative ethics rules to prevent conflicts of interest when lawmakers oversee laws affecting their own families.