Booking photo for Charles Allan Olson (Courtesy: Cache County Jail)
LOGAN — A 44-year-old Newton man has pleaded guilty to using sticks to spank five young children and tying at least one to a chair. Charles A. Olson was originally arrested in February after telling deputies he knew what he had done was wrong.
Olson participated in a pretrial conference in 1st District Court Monday afternoon. He accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to aggravated assault, amended to a third-degree felony; and four counts of child abuse, amended to a class A misdemeanor.
Defense attorney Wayne Caldwell explained that as part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to drop six remaining charges against Olson.
Earlier this year, the victims, ages 5 through 16-years-old, told deputies how they were disciplined by Olson when they broke rules or when he became angry. He would use “spanking sticks,” made of wood, metal, or wire. Some of the sticks had names like Old Bamboo, Sammy Kablame, White Lightning, Egg Beater and Sold Truth.
One of the young girls told investigators that Olson “had tied her to a bar stool in the garage,” with paracord that he would use to make whips. She said, he tied her hands to the bottom of the stool on one side and her feet to the bottom on the other side, forcing her to bend over the stool and that he did this to keep her still.
Another child said, if she did not bend over correctly that Olson would hit her on the back or legs. She stated that they could receive up to 50 spankings at one time.
Olson spoke only briefly during Monday’s hearing. He told the court he was willing to waive his rights to a fair trial and pleaded guilty to the charges.
Judge Brandon Maynard accepted Olson’s plea deal and scheduled sentencing for September 20. He also ordered the defendant to complete a presentence report during the next two months about his criminal history.
Olson remains out of jail on bail. He could face up to five years in prison at sentencing.
will@cvradio.com