ST. GEORGE — A staff member at a residential youth crisis center on St. George Boulevard recently appeared in court for sentencing on a child abuse charge following an altercation with a juvenile in April. A felony fraud charge for admittedly using false information to apply at a second youth facility was also on the court’s agenda.
On July 22, Henry Chism Okwori, 29, of St. George, appeared before District Judge Eric Gentry for a sentencing hearing held at the 5th District Court on one misdemeanor count of child abuse with injury-intentional. He was also sentenced on one third-degree felony count of identity fraud filed two weeks after the first case was filed. The defendant pleaded guilty to the charges during a hearing, while a felony forgery charge was dismissed in exchange for a guilty plea.
Investigation at Cinnamon Hills
The first case was filed following an incident in March at the Cinnamon Hills Youth Crisis Center in St. George, where the defendant worked as a staff member and assaulted a juvenile during an altercation, according to arrest documents filed at the time of the arrest and previously reported by St. George News.
While supervising the youth, Okwori reportedly became upset when the juvenile mentioned the name of a female staff member who also worked at the facility. He grabbed the juvenile by the face and neck and pushed the minor, who fell backward, striking his head on a metal bed frame, according to the documents.
A physical struggle reportedly ensued until it was broken up by other staff members.
During an internal investigation conducted by the youth facility following the incident, Okwori reportedly provided a written statement in which he admitted to grabbing the youth’s head and pushing him onto a bed “because he was upset.”
His employment was terminated from the facility. Cinnamon Hills previously provided the following statement via email:
“Mr. Okwori’s employment with Cinnamon Hills ended on March 14 of this year (2024). The alleged incident was promptly self-reported by Cinnamon Hills to the appropriate authorities with full cooperation being maintained with all applicable law enforcement and state agencies on the matter.”
Following the police investigation, on April 17, Okwori was arrested and booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility on one misdemeanor count of child abuse with intentional injury and was released three hours later on his own recognizance.
Investigation into the application at Liahona
Nine days later, Okwori was arrested and booked into jail, facing third-degree felony counts of identity fraud and forgery after an investigation into a report alleging that he used fraudulent information when he applied for a staff position at Liahona Academy in Hurricane.
The defendant had yet to begin work at the facility due to an issue with his background check. Investigators learned from the facility’s human resources department that Okwori’s background check could not be completed, which was unusual since the defendant had already undergone a prior check while working at Cinnamon Hills.
Detectives then learned from an investigator with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services Licensing Division that Okwori used a different Social Security number on the application for Liahona than what he had used before. The Social Security number used in the Liahona application turned out to belong to an individual living in another state.
He was arrested on April 26 on felony fraud and forgery charges while the child abuse case was still open.
According to the statement in support of the guilty plea signed five days before sentencing, Okwori admitted to intentionally inflicting an injury on a child by shoving the boy back, which caused him to hit his head on the metal frame.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, the defendant’s guilty pleas in both cases will be held in abeyance for 18 months, and if the defendant fulfills the terms as outlined in the agreement, then the cases will be dismissed. Those terms include paying a $500 fee, completing an anger management class and performing 25 hours of community service. The defendant is also prohibited from working with children during that period.
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