CEDAR CITY — A Cedar City man who pleaded guilty to sodomy on a child in connection with an incident that happened nine years ago has been sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison.
Gary Heath Nay, 40, appeared in 5th District Court for his sentencing hearing on Wednesday, as Judge Matthew L. Bell heard arguments from both sides.
As previously reported, Nay was arrested in January 2021 after being accompanied by the girl’s father to report the incident to law enforcement officers in Cedar City. The victim, who is now 16, was 7 years old at the time the offense occurred, when she and other children were playing at Nay’s house in 2014.
Approximately six years afterward the girl, who had since moved out of state, mentioned the incident during an online chat with one of Nay’s children, who then reported it to her mother. After Nay’s wife confronted him about the incident, Nay reportedly drove to Grand Junction, Colorado to talk to the victim’s mother in person.
The girl’s father, who addressed the court on Wednesday, spoke of his own thoughts when he first found out about what had happened, which he said included thoughts of “murder, assault and torture, among other things.”
“This was an anger I’d never known or had to deal with,” he told the court. “The point here is that I had choices in the way I handled things. Even though I may not have been in the best state of mind, the choices that I made were the right ones, the hardest decisions I’ve ever faced.
“I knew that I was tearing a family apart at the seams,” he added. “That was the hardest part of all of this. But at the same time, I could not allow this to go on. My love for the victim is real. And what I did is to make sure that this would never happen again by his hands.”
Also addressing the court was children’s justice advocate Jessica Cramer. Cramer read aloud a statement written by the victim, who was also in attendance at the hearing.
“At a young age, I had my childhood taken by this man,” Cramer said, quoting from the victim’s statement, which talked of the lasting negative impacts the incident had on her.
“This incident has affected my life to this day in many ways,” the girl’s statement continued. “I no longer have a feeling of trust towards anyone. I can no longer feel safe around certain people. This has made me lose my feeling of trust towards everyone in my life. The image of the incident has never left my memory. I remember down to the smallest detail, despite it happening eight or more years ago.”
Toward the end of her written statement, the victim directly addressed her abuser, who had pleaded guilty to a single count of sodomy on a child, a first-degree felony, on Oct. 31, 2022.
“Gary Heath Nay, I hope you don’t make it back out,” Cramer said as she continued to read from the girl’s statement. “I have zero remorse towards you, and I really do hope that this will make you regret every single person you have hurt in your life.”
Although Nay did not appear to have any prior sex offenses in Utah as an adult at the time of his arrest in 2021, prosecutor Trajan Evans noted that Nay did have a history as a juvenile sex offender, serving time in detention and receiving treatment following convictions in 1999 and 2001.
Evans spoke of one victim from that time frame who had a familial relationship to Nay. Evans said as he quoted from that woman’s statement: “While he was living with us, I was molested more times than I can count. It took me three years to come forward and tell my parents what had been happening over and over and over right in our family home.”
Evans said that woman, who also was physically present in the courtroom on Wednesday, is still feeling the impact of Nay’s actions more than 20 years later.
“This victim stated, ‘I have tears in my eyes as I’m writing this due to the outrage,’” Evans said shortly before asking the court to impose the maximum possible prison sentence.
During his earlier arguments, Nay’s defense attorney Troy Sundquist asked the court to consider placing Nay in a closely supervised residential treatment center approved by the state.
Sundquist said that not long before the 2014 incident involving the neighbor child occurred, Nay sustained traumatic brain injuries during a beating.
The assault, which happened while Nay was working in Louisiana, resulted in severe damage to his head, Sundquist noted, adding, “Speaking with family members, he was kind of a different person after that. Not in a bad way or dangerous way. But simply, he just wasn’t … there was something a little off, and you could tell.”
Sundquist also referenced a supportive email written by Nay’s wife of nearly 19 years. That letter, which was addressed to the judge and filed with the court, states in part, “I in no way condone the actions that he is being charged with. I have cried many nights not only for what me and my children are going through but also for the victim and her family as well.”
Later, in her email to the judge, Nay’s wife added, “I believe with everything in my heart and what I know about my husband, is that his actions during that time, when this horrific thing happened, is not the person he truly is.”
“If Gary is able to go into treatment, that means our youngest will know his dad more than just over a video screen,” she added. “He will be able to help financially support his six children who are still living at home.”
Earlier in the hearing, when Nay himself was given a chance to address the court, he also asked for leniency in order that he might receive treatment along with a chance to be employed and provide for his family.
“Unfortunately, due to my actions, I feel like if I don’t get my act together they’re going to face homelessness and undue hardship to the things that I’ve done,” Nay said. “I just would really, really appreciate the court’s consideration in this matter.”
After hearing input from the various parties involved, Judge Bell talked about what went into his sentencing decision.
“There’s no doubt that you need treatment, but your need for treatment is only one factor that needs to be considered,” Bell told Nay. “As has been pointed out, Utah law requires imprisonment for these extremely serious crimes against children, as it should.”
Bell then addressed Nay’s juvenile criminal history.
“You had a chance to make sure you learned from your prior crimes but instead, you repeated them,” Bell said, adding, “I’m not going to get hung up on whether we call the juvenile court a criminal case and conviction or an adjudication. The key is that you have repeated these sexual offenses against children.”
“This young girl was violated by someone she trusted,” Bell added. “You stole her innocence to gratify your selfish desires. When your offense first came to light, I have no doubt you had rehearsed your excuse many times before it came to light. And the excuse, or the reason you gave, was that you simply could not resist yourself. But your indulgence in that moment cannot be undone and it has an enormous consequence for lots of people.”
“Despite doing absolutely nothing to deserve it, your victim has paid and will continue to pay a very heavy price for that abuse,” Bell continued. “Today, Mr. Knight, you have to pay a heavy price, that you have no one to blame other than yourself.”
“But, considering all of the facts and circumstances in this case, the court is going to follow the recommendations of the (presentence investigation report) and the guidelines,” Bell said. “For your first-degree felony, I sentence you to Utah State Prison for a term of not less than 25 years and for up to life.”
The court did not impose any fines or fees but did order that Nay pay $770 in restitution, with the final amount to be left open for a period of time to allow for any additional claims.
Nay was also advised of his right to file written notice of appeal within 30 days. Bell then ordered that Nay be immediately transported to the state prison to begin serving his sentence.
Out in the courthouse parking lot afterward, approximately two dozen supporters who had attended the 40-minute hearing shared handshakes and hugs as they expressed joy and relief at the outcome.
The victim’s father said he applauded his daughter for being brave enough to report what had happened to her.
“She’s been so strong through all this,” the father told Cedar City News. “That’s what we’ve been trying to keep telling her, that what you’re doing is right. You know, something like this can’t just get swept under the rug like it didn’t happen. It gets swept under the rug way too often.”
Later on Wednesday, prosecutor Evans issued the following statement on behalf of the Iron County Attorney’s Office:
The maximum sentence delivered by the court today was appropriate. Justice could not have been achieved in this case without the bravery and unwavering resiliency of the child victim. Because of her, Nay will be prevented from sexually offending on children for at least the next 25 years. At the end of those 25 years, he will be entitled to periodic parole hearings with the Board of Pardons. It is my hope that the Board of Pardons consider the nature of this crime as well as Nay’s prior sexual offenses against children when he was a juvenile and routinely determine that he has no place in society.
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