Cedar City man pleads guilty, sentenced to jail following child sexual exploitation sting

Composite image with background photo by Matt Gush/iStock/Getty Images Plus and overlay of Internet Crimes Against Children logo courtesy of the Utah Attorney General's Office, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A Cedar City man was sentenced last week to serve jail time and complete sex-offender treatment for enticing a minor for sex, one of 12 defendants arrested during a multi-agency sting operation conducted in St. George last fall.

Skyler Wesley Carter, 29, of Cedar City, booking photo taken in Washington County, Utah, Sept. 1, 2020 | File photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

On May 19, 29-year-old Skyler Wesley Carter appeared in 5th District Court via video where he was sentenced on one second-degree felony count of enticing a minor by internet or text after pleading guilty to the charge in March. Under the terms of the plea agreement, two third-degree felony charges – sexual exploitation of a minor and obstructing justice – were dismissed in exchange for his guilty plea.

Carter was arrested Sept. 1 of last year as part of a sting operation set in motion when authorities were alerted to an ad found on Craigslist in which an individual posted a message implying that time could be spent with a child and asking those interested to respond via email.

Authorities received multiple calls from concerned individuals reporting the ad, which has since been removed, and additional resources were brought in to conduct a sting operation that began Sept. 1 and continued for three nights. The operation involved authorities setting up locations at which the suspect believed they were meeting up to “have sex with children,” Dixie State Police Chief Blair Barfuss told St. George News following the operation.

During the sentencing hearing, Carter was sentenced to serve 105 days in jail with credit for time served, while the prison sentence of 1-15 years was suspended in the case as long as the defendant successfully completes his probation requirements.

After serving 60 days of his jail sentence, the court also ordered that Carter may be released into an in-patient sex offender treatment program, while the balance of the jail term will be deferred.

Carter was also placed on 48-months’ probation and fined $1,193. He will also be required to submit a DNA sample, submit to warrantless searches and complete an evaluation and sex offender therapy as determined by the treating facility and under the direction of the Utah Department of Corrections.

In reference to the sentences imposed on the defendants involved in the September sting operation, even without prison time, Barfuss told St. George News in a previous interview, each defendant is typically placed on probation and watched fairly closely or placed on parole if they are sentenced to state prison.

In either case, he said, those who are convicted are generally required to undergo a psychosexual evaluation, which is an intensive look into the defendant’s history, which is likely in Carter’s case since he is being released into an in-patient program. In most cases, probation is accompanied by a sex offender registry requirement.

During the sentencing hearing, the defendant was given until Friday at 8 p.m. to turn himself into the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility to begin serving his sentence.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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