CEDAR CITY — A former employee of a youth residential treatment center has been sentenced to 120 days in jail and four years of probation after pleading guilty to attempted forcible sexual abuse involving a 15-year-old girl who was enrolled at the center.
Kylar Fredrick Williams, 24, was sentenced on Nov. 15 by 5th District Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen, who ordered Williams to report to Iron County Jail by 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17, to begin serving his four-month jail term. That sentence is to be followed by 48 months of supervised probation, the court ordered.
“I will reiterate what I think you already know, which (is that what you did) was so far out of the bounds of any conduct that is acceptable,” Allen told Williams during the sentencing. “It is this court’s intention that you reflect upon that during the period of your probation and that we never, ever see you in this context again.”
According to the probable cause statement filed in support of his arrest, Williams was working at Zion Hills Academy in Enoch on Jan. 20, 2022, when he allegedly allowed three teenage girls to use his vape pen. He also allegedly kissed one of the girls multiple times and grabbed her buttocks.
After learning of the incident, Zion Hills Academy officials notified Enoch police, and Williams was immediately terminated from his job, according to reports.
Formal charges were filed on Feb. 23, with Williams initially facing one count of sexual abuse of a minor, a class A misdemeanor, and three counts of providing tobacco to a minor, a class C misdemeanor.
Later, after further investigation, including a review of the facility’s surveillance footage, the first count was upgraded to forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony. Then, as part of a plea agreement, that count was later reduced to attempted forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony, to which Williams pleaded guilty on Aug. 8. The other three charges were dismissed as part of the agreement.
Given a chance to address the court before his sentencing, Williams said, “I went to therapy on my own to make sure I can better myself and make sure I’ll never be in a situation like that again.
“It was just wrong on all accounts,” Williams added. “I take full responsibility for that. No matter how it happened, that should have never happened. And my therapist has been really helping me move forward in making sure it doesn’t happen again. And for me, it helped me see how it came to be and what I can do to change, moving forward.”
Defense attorney Troy Sundquist pointed out his client’s lack of prior criminal history.
“This is his first evolution into the criminal world,” Sundquist said. “Throughout this entire process, he has been nothing but cooperative.”
However, prosecutor Trajan Evans said certain factors in the presentencing report indicate that Williams could be considered to be at high risk of reoffending.
“The defendant was in a position of power and trust over the victim in a girls’ group home,” Evans said. “The victim was vulnerable to abuse and she was under the defendant’s supervision while she was attempting to recover from some of life’s challenges. However, he used this position of power to satisfy his own sexual desires.
“While the defendant does, to his credit, have no criminal history, his behavior is dangerous because it could have led to further criminal acts and escalated further,” Evans added.
Although the third-degree felony charge is punishable by up to five years in prison, the court suspended the prison term and sentenced Williams to 120 days in jail, with credit given for time already served.
The judge also waived $9,500 in fines but said Williams will still need to pay the $53 court security fee. Williams was also ordered to abide by all terms of his probation and to have no contact or communication with the victim in the case.
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