Booking photo for Jessie Angel Oliva (Courtesy: Cache County Jail)
LOGAN — A 26-year-old Logan man already in prison for stealing a truck and leading police on a high-speed chase, has been sentenced to more time for sexually abusing a teenage girl in 2021. Jessie Angel Oliva told a judge he was sorry, before being ordered to serve three-years-to-life, with no credit for time already served.
Oliva was sentenced Monday, Mar. 4, in Logan’s 1st District Court. He previously pleaded guilty to an amended count of attempted rape, a first-degree felony.
According to prosecutors, Logan City Police officers received a report of the crime from an adult caregiver, who said they had learned how Oliva had raped the 15-year-old girl while at their home. The incident happened in May or June 2021.
The complainant told police, Oliva had confessed to the victim’s mother during a phone call from prison. During the conversation, he reportedly said he had done “something bad.”
Officers were able to obtain a recording of the call. On it, Oliva was heard telling the girl’s mother that he regretted what he did but he didn’t feel it was as bad as stealing.
On June 21, 2021, Oliva stole a red Dodge pickup truck from a convenience store. When officers spotted the stolen truck, he refused to stop and sped off, leading to a chase, before crashing into a townhouse.
During Monday’s sentencing, defense attorney Cameron Cox said Oliva was remorseful. He explained how his client should be given credit for self-reporting the crime and accepting a plea deal, so the victim would not have to go through the trial process.
Cache County Deputy Attorney Ronnie Keller said Oliva had a “significant” criminal history in California and Utah. He called the sexual assault, “egregious” and traumatizing for the victim.
Oliva continued to claim that he didn’t know the victim was a minor when the crime occurred. He acknowledged though what he did was wrong.
Judge Spencer Walsh said Oliva had a violent history that began as a juvenile. He noted how the defendant had been written up 20 times in prison, 12 of those incidents in the past year.
Oliva is currently serving a term of zero to five years on the theft charge. The new sentence will run consecutively, meaning it will be at least three years before he is eligible for parole.