Booking photo for Dayton Jorge Chavez. (Courtesy: Cache County Jail)
LOGAN — A 23-year-old Paradise man, who was previously convicted of enticing teenagers to have sex with him, is headed to prison for sexting with several young girls again. Dayton J. Chavez was ordered to serve a term of zero-to-five years in prison after a judge said he had run out of options to protect the community.
Chavez was sentenced Wednesday morning during a virtual hearing in 1st District Court, appearing by web conference from the Cache County Jail. He previously accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to one count of dealing in materials harmful to a minor, a third-degree felony.
Chavez was arrested last December after law enforcement learned that he had been contacting a 15-year-old and two other teen girls on Snapchat. During the exchanged messages, he tried to trade naked photos with one of the girls.
The crimes occurred while Chavez was on probation for a similar crime.
In 2018, the defendant was convicted of trying to coerce a teenage boy and girl to have sex with him. He was later sentenced to 120-days in jail and five-years of probation.
During Wednesday’s sentencing, defense attorney Joseph Saxton asked the court to consider probation or jail again. He said his client had already spent 6 months in jail and taken responsibility for what he did.
Cache County Deputy Attorney Andrew Crane disagreed. He noted how Chavez was already on probation when he was arrested the second time. He claimed the defendant hadn’t taken the crimes serious and was a danger to society.
Chavez refused to comment during the hearing.
Judge Brian Cannell told Chavez that he hesitated to send him to prison but had no other choice. He said, he had run out of tools, and expressed hope that the defendant would take advantage of the programs in prison and change his life.
will@cvradio.com