ST. GEORGE — A Beryl man who was found guilty of sexually abusing three children during a series of camping trips recently appeared for sentencing in 5th District Court on multiple felony counts of sexual abuse of a child.
The defendant, Alberto Arellano, 50, appeared before District Judge Eric A. Ludlow on Aug. 9 for sentencing on six second-degree felony counts of sexual abuse of a child following a three-day jury trial that ended on May 24, when the jury returned with a guilty verdict after less than three hours of deliberations.
Since the case was filed in 2020, defense attorneys Kenneth Combs and Edward Flint have represented Arellano, while the state was represented by prosecutors Zachary Weiland and Mark Barlow.
The 2020 investigation
The investigation began Oct. 20, when the Washington County Sheriff’s Office received a report that three children had been sexually abused by Arellano, a friend of the children’s family, according to reports filed at the time of the defendant’s arrest.
The affidavit alleges that Arellano had inappropriately touched the children during a series of camping trips and other family gatherings, including one gathering during a camping trip near the Virgin River in Washington County. There, the defendant touched one of the children inappropriately and exposed himself to her, and also took the youngster into the bathroom at the campground where he committed other sexual acts.
Another child recounted similar incidents on at least four different occasions during an interview with investigators. The child reportedly told police that Arellano would accompany the family on “every camping trip” they went on.
On the evening of Nov. 9, 2020, one month into the investigation, Arellano was stopped by a Washington County Sheriff’s deputy for a traffic offense and was subsequently transported to the Sheriff’s Office to be interviewed on the allegations of sexual abuse — one that ceased as soon as it began when the defendant asked for an attorney.
Arellano was transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and held without bail while the charges were filed by the Washington County Attorney’s Office the following day.
The question of accountability during sentencing
During the hearing held before District Judge Eric A. Ludlow earlier this month, Combs said that while the presentence report recommended his client be sent to prison, he said Arellano also qualified for probation in place of incarceration. He then noted the fact that Arellano had already spent nearly three years in jail since his arrest in November 2020.
Combs then outlined several mitigating factors in the case, including his client’s minimal criminal history and the fact that Arellano is a long-time resident of St. George with strong family ties to the area.
He also said that his client, if not sent to prison, would likely be deported at some point, which would likely cause further pain to the defendant’s family.
He said he disagreed with the presentence report’s finding that his client felt no sense of remorse, Combs said.
“My client does feel remorse, and he wanted the court to know that, and that he’s repented,” the attorney said.
Arellano also addressed the court by way of an interpreter and said the guilty verdict “was not really justice,” since he had more evidence of his innocence than what was presented during the trial. He also asked the judge to show compassion and to place him on probation instead of sending him to prison.
At that point, the judge asked the defendant if he had committed the offenses, to which Arellano said the evidence presented at trial did not prove that he had “ever done anything like that,” adding it was a difficult question.
“That is not a hard question — either you did commit the offense or you did not,” Ludlow said.
“I didn’t do it, your honor,” Arellano said.
The state’s position was that Arellano showed no remorse for what he had done, nor was he taking any accountability for his actions, Weiland said, just as the presentence report had outlined.
The prosecutor said the defendant asked the court to show him compassion when rendering the sentence, despite the fact that Arellano “had shown no compassion” to the three children who looked up to him.
“They trusted him and he violated that trust and he abused these girls,” the prosecutor added.
Weiland closed by mentioning another finding in the report that said Arellano posed a high risk of reoffending. As such, the prosecutor asked that the sentences be run concurrently on each of the six felony counts.
The ruling
Ultimately, Ludlow sentenced Arellano to serve 1-15 years in Utah State Prison on each of the six felony counts. The sentences were ordered to run consecutively with credit for time served. The transport order was signed during the hearing.
On Aug. 18, a notice of appeal was sent to the Utah Supreme Court by Arellano’s court-appointed appellate attorney, Nic Turner.
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