Daniel Ruiz booking photo from the Cache County Jail.
LOGAN — A 21-year-old Logan man is heading to prison for sexually assaulting a teenage girl while she was at a sleepover last year. Daniel Ezequel Ruiz expressed remorse as a judge said the crimes necessitated a prison term.
Ruiz was sentenced Monday morning in 1st District Court. He previously accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to two counts of sexual abuse of a child, amended to a second-degree felony.
Logan City Police officers arrested Ruiz after the victim told law enforcement how she was molested on May 13. The 13-year-old girl said she was spending the night at her friend’s house. During the night, Ruiz laid down behind her and sexually assaulted her, while placing his hands over her mouth.
Ruiz was booked into Cache County Jail in July. He had been held without bail.
During Monday’s sentencing, defense attorney Michael McGinnis asked the court for a lesser sentence. He explained how his client came from a difficult background and had been sexually abused as a child by his father.
Ruiz told the court he wanted to do better for himself and his family. He apologized but acknowledged that he couldn’t go back and change the past.
Cache County Deputy Attorney Joshua Nemeth asked the court to send the defendant to prison instead of jail.
Judge Angela Fonnesbeck recognized that Ruiz was young but explained that the crimes dictated a prison term. She sentenced him to two concurrent terms of one-to-15-years in prison.
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