By Jason Bergreen
Salt Lake Tribune
April 28, 2010
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_14969539?source=most_viewed
A former Farr West church youth leader was ordered to stand trial Tuesday on charges he groped and fondled four teenage girls at his home in 2007 and 2009.
Cory C. Campbell, 37, faces one count of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony. He also faces two second-degree felony counts of forcible sexual abuse and two counts of sexual battery, both are class A misdemeanors.
On Tuesday, in 2nd District Court in Ogden, Campbell waived his right to a preliminary hearing on four of the charges. But Judge Michael Lyon heard testimony concerning the aggravated sexual abuse charge, which involved a girl who was 11 or 12 when the alleged abuse occurred.
The girl did not take the stand, but a Weber County sheriff's detective who interviewed her in February recounted part of her story.
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| Cory Clyde Campbell |
Detective Stephanie Tatton said the girl, who is now 14, told her during an interview that Campbell put his hand down her shirt and shorts in July 2007 when she was staying at his house. At the time, the girl was a friend of Campbell's daughter.
Tatton said the girl was staying at the Campbell's home because her mother was out of town for a week. One night, while she was trying to fall asleep on the living room couch, the girl heard Campbell come out of another room. The girl told Tatton she pretended to be asleep and that's when Campbell allegedly touched her underneath her clothes. She then sat up and Campbell walked away without saying anything.
Tatton said the girl came forward in February after media accounts surfaced of Campbell being arrested for allegedly sexually abusing other girls.
The other girls accused Campbell of abusing them in November or January 2009, also at his home.
At the time, Campbell was a leader of teenage boys at his Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ward. He was removed from that position in the church when the investigation started. The abuse does not appear to be directly related to his leadership role.
But Lyon ruled Tuesday that Campbell would be charged with aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony instead of a second-degree felony, because Campbell occupied a position of special trust and was in a supervisory position while the girl stayed at the Campbell home.
After the 90-minute hearing, Lyon ordered Campbell to stand trial on all five charges. A disposition hearing in the cases is set for May 13 at 2 p.m.
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