A West Jordan man will spend up to a decade in the Utah State Prison after his sentencing in 3rd District Court Tuesday.
Shawn Carlson, 41, was sentenced to up to five years in prison for each of two convictions for aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a third-degree felony. Carlson will serve the prison terms consecutively; both counts were amended from first-degree felonies per a plea deal with the state.
The convictions against Carlson stem from separate incidents involving an underage girl while he lived in Tooele. According to a probable cause statement from the Tooele City Police Department, the victim said Carlson entered her room on several occasions and touched her above and below her clothing while he thought she was asleep.
The victim told police she pretended to sleep during the abuse because she was afraid. When the victim moved from the home in which the abuse occurred, Carlson stopped abusing her, the statement said.
During an interview with Tooele City police, Carlson initially denied the allegations that he had sexually abused the victim, according to the probable cause statement. He also said he didn’t know why the allegations had been made against him.
After the interview with police, Carlson was arrested and transported to the Tooele County Detention Facility and held on $100,000 bail.