LOGAN — A 46-year-old Hyrum man has been sentenced to 210 days in jail for using his cellphone to download child sexual abuse material. Jesse Laurence Hale was booked into the Cache County Jail in July, after staff at Logan Regional Hospital found his Apple iphone with a picture of a naked little girl on the screen.
Hale was sentenced Nov. 5 in Logan’s 1st District Court. He previously agreed to a plea deal, pleading guilty to four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony. Fifteen remaining charges were dismissed as part of the agreement.
According to prosecutors, staff at the hospital contacted Logan City Police officers on July 3, reporting a patient had left a cellphone at the facility. The phone had a pornographic photo of a 6 to 9-year-old girl as the lock screen.
On July 7, Hale went to the police department asking about the phone. He told officers that the naked image had been sent to him. He acknowledged that he shouldn’t have the photo but hadn’t deleted it.
Hale reportedly tried to downplay his actions. He told officers that it would be “nice to pay a fine or take a class” instead of going to jail, where he wouldn’t “survive,” according to court paperwork.
Police obtained a warrant and searched the phone, finding 19 additional child sexual abuse images. The majority of the files were of female children between 3 to 14 years of age. The images appeared to be screenshots, showing the website they had been accessed on.
During Wednesday’s sentencing, defense attorney Cameron Cox said Hale has battled numerous health issues. He asked the court to give his client credit for time already served and be released so he can get medical treatment.
Hale refused to comment during the 20 minute hearing.
Cache County deputy attorney Dane Murray encouraged the court to follow the plea agreement sentencing recommendation of jail instead of prison. He noted how even though this was still a depraved case, Hale was found with only a couple dozen pictures compared to other cases where defendants had thousands.
Judge Angela Fonnesbeck angrily said Hale’s case was disgusting and should not be tolerated by the community. She told the Hyrum man he needs help and should be nowhere near children.
Hale was ordered to serve seven month in jail, given credit for 122 days already served. After completing 88 more days, he’ll be placed on probation and the sex-offender registry, and prohibited from having any access to children or the internet.