LOGAN — A 21-year-old Paradise man has been sentenced to prison after previously confessing to having sex with a teenage girl and other crimes. Steven A. Nath refused to make a statement and showed little emotion as he was ordered to be sent to the Utah State Prison.
Nath was sentenced in 1st District Court Tuesday afternoon. He previously pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual activity with a minor, a third-degree felony; furnishing alcohol to a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, both misdemeanors. He also had previous criminal cases filed against him, including escaping from custody, disarming a police officer and assault by a prisoner.
Nath was arrested in April after he met up with a 14-year-old girl along with others. He provided her alcohol in exchange for sex.
Public defender Bryan Galloway said Nath was hoping for probation and a chance to seek counseling instead of incarceration. He explained that because of his client’s age, prison would have a negative influence on the defendant and make the situation worse.
Cache County Deputy Attorney Dane Murray disagreed. He told the court that Nath had been given multiple chances for rehabilitation and was kicked out of those programs for distributing drugs to other patients. He said, “It is time that (Nath) be moved out of society to protect the public.”
Nath’s other defense attorney, Robert Gutke, also expressed his hope for counseling. He suggested the court give his client one more chance to participate in a rehab program, with the threat of a prison sentence if he didn’t succeed.
Judge Angela Fonnesbeck agreed with Murray, telling Nath that he had been given plenty of chances but hadn’t benefited from them. She said the defendant had committed a “pretty heinous crime” that he probably didn’t fully comprehend. She told Nath, “You haven’t earned another chance. You have earned a prison sentence.”
Nath was given the maximum prison sentences for each of the felonies and misdemeanors he had previously pleaded guilty to. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently, meaning that he will likely serve no more than five-years behind bars.