Former counselor at youth treatment center in Toquerville appears for sentencing in ‘egregious’ case

Booking photo of Paul Anthony Nichols, 23, of St. George, who was arrested in Washington County, Utah, Dec. 2, 2022 | Booking photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff's Office, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A former staff member accused of sexually abusing two teenage girls housed at a treatment center in Toquerville was sentenced on multiple felony charges during a recent hearing in 5th District Court.

Paul Anthony Nichols, 23, of St. George, appeared before District Judge Jay Winward on May 16 for sentencing on seven second-degree felony charges — five counts of forcible sexual abuse and two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.

The defendant pleaded guilty to the charges on March 28, and under the terms of the plea agreement, one first-degree felony rape charge was dismissed in exchange for a guilty plea.

Defense attorney Nathan Reeve represented Nichols, while prosecutors Eric Gentry and Tyler Bonzo represented the state.

The investigation

Nichols worked as a counselor at the Falcon Ridge Ranch-Lava Heights Academy in Toquerville, a residential treatment center for teenage girls. He was arrested Dec. 2, 2022, after the Washington County Sheriff’s Office received a report in October alleging that two juvenile students at the facility were being abused by a counselor.

Booking photo of Paul Anthony Nichols, 23, of St. George, who was arrested in Washington County, Utah, Dec. 2, 2022 | Booking photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George New

Detectives eventually identified the suspect as Nichols, who started with the company as a part-time staff member in September, the same month he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle after the offense was reduced from a felony.

According to charging documents filed with the court, three days into his employment at the youth treatment center, Nichols allegedly went into the girls’ restroom with one of the teens and molested the youth, police say. The incidents reportedly continued over five days and began with inappropriate touching and then escalated into a sexual assault that took place in the bathroom.

The report also included information regarding a second student who was molested, abuse that involved inappropriate touching in one of the facility’s restrooms on more than one occasion.

Both sides weigh in during sentencing

During the sentencing hearing, Gentry said the state’s position was that Nichols should serve a prison sentence — considering the severity of the charges combined with the special position of trust the defendant inherently had as a counselor at the facility. 

The defendant took advantage of that position of trust, Gentry said, which is central to the case and was “most egregious,” combined with the fact the two underage victims were in a treatment facility at the time. 

One victim provided a victim-impact statement to the court after Winward assured the girl they would get through the statement together when the teen was having difficulty speaking in open court. 

“You’re just telling me your story, and we’re going to get through this,” the judge said. 

The teen said Nichols knew she was in treatment and had access to information due to his position at the facility, and he took that information to manipulate the youth for his own satisfaction. 

“You used my struggles against me,” she said, adding that it left her scared out of her mind.

She said Nichols picked “a little girl in treatment already struggling” to use as his victim, and his actions have left her with a sense of self-loathing and guilt she continues to deal with every day.   

Winward told the juvenile she would use her strength and intelligence to heal and said it was not her fault.

“You are going to learn not to hate yourself and have a wonderful life — I promise you that.” 

One of the youth’s guardians also addressed the court and said teens in treatment deserve to be protected and feel safe while they are working through the issues that brought them to the facility in the first place.

In this case, the guardian said, the girl was victimized in such a way that it added guilt upon layer of guilt to a juvenile already struggling.

The defendant, she said, came in “and within a short period of time of working there,” committed acts that resulted in “extra damage to these girls that they have to live with for the rest of their lives.” 

The guardian also said that as a mother and a grandmother, “I can’t imagine anyone doing this to one — let alone any of them.” 

She then asked that Nichols be sentenced to prison and said he should undergo extensive counseling once he is released. 

The prosecutor said one element that made the defendant’s actions so damaging was that he used his role as a counselor to prey upon two juveniles when they were most vulnerable — in a facility where they should have been safe. 

These actions caused conflicting emotions that left these youths “crumbling and in some ways still attached,” he said, adding that the defendant did so for his own satisfaction. 

Gentry said he received several letters from the defendant’s family, and by all accounts, Nichols appeared to have come from a loving, supportive family.

Even so, the prosecutor said, “This is Nichols’ own doing — he had the upper hand and took advantage of others.”

In one of the letters, he said, the defendant’s family member expressed sincere concern for the victims as well and hoped the teens would know they are valuable and worthy of respect, protection and love. 

“This letter was a heartfelt letter and her concern is genuine,” Gentry said. “This is a tragedy all the way around.”

Stock image | St. George News

The state requested that the court follow the recommendations as set forth in the presentence report and asked that at least some, if not all, of the sentences be run consecutively. 

Reeve, Nichols’ defense attorney, opened by saying, “These are the hardest kinds of cases.”

Regardless of the sentence imposed upon his client, he said there are victims who have been left in the wake of the defendant’s actions and his hope was that those affected would be able to heal and move forward. 

Reeve went over the matrix included in the report that provided a sentencing range that varied from a jail sentence followed by a period of conditional release to a prison sentence at the higher range. 

That range was based on several factors, including the fact Nichols was on probation for a prior misdemeanor conviction, which penalized him even more than if he had a prior sex conviction or even a felony weapons conviction. Nichols scored low in all other risk factors. 

As a mitigating factor, Reeve said his client is not only young in years but also young emotionally and has had some developmental disabilities, according to information provided by family members. 

Reeve said his client’s supportive family relationships will be a critical factor in helping the defendant once he is released from custody. 

“He’s got a family who will be very important in helping him to do everything the court requires him to do,” the defense attorney said.

He then asked the court to follow the guidelines on the low end of the matrix that recommended jail time and probation instead of sentencing Nichols to prison. 

One of the defendant’s family members also spoke on behalf of Nichols, who was adopted as a young child from a mother who was suffering from addiction. As a result, the family member said, Nichols suffered from several learning disabilities due to his exposure to alcohol prior to his birth.  

She said Nichols was always a “good, good, good guy” and asked the court to consider all of the factors that make up a person, including the good he has done.

“Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done,” the family member said, adding that Nichols should be placed into treatment instead of being sent to prison.

Another family member told the judge that despite the “many horrible things” said in court during the hearing, Nichols has done many good things as a teen, including church missions that involved building homes for the poor in Mexico and helping flood victims in Texas.  

He also said the charges would follow the defendant for the rest of his life and change Nichols’ life forever.

He closed by saying, “We just ask that you would save this life.” 

Nichols also made an emotional address to the court.

“I’m truly sorry about the situation,” he said, adding that he takes full responsibility for what he has done — actions that he regrets “every day.” 

Nichols said he has a supportive family and asked the judge to consider sentencing him to enter a treatment center that is ready to accept him rather than send him to prison. 

Reeve made a final plea for the judge to sentence his client to jail instead of prison, which would also allow the court to name the terms and the requirements he would need to complete, such as a psychosexual evaluation, mental health counseling and any needed treatment.  

The ruling

File photo for illustrative purposes only of District Judge Jay Winward presiding over hearing held in 5th District Court in St. George, Utah, March 21, 2023 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

The judge said the defendant’s mother provided one of the most poignant statements he had ever heard in court and said the love she has for her son “exudes the whole courtroom,” and that love was not only for her son, the judge said, but for all of those affected in the case. 

The judge continued by saying that Nichols, by his own admission, not only sexually assaulted “two little girls — and you knew that,”  but he also preyed upon and groomed the girls. Ultimately, the judge said, Nichols stole from them their “very essence.” 

Winward said that while the defendant’s life is defined by more than his worst behavior, “your worst behavior was egregious and criminal. It was predatory.” Nichols was calculated in his actions, he added. As such, Winward said, society requires that he pay for the decisions that he made. 

“And I’m telling you right now, I’m not imposing probation,” Winward said.  

The judge said Nichols’ young age and disabilities related to fetal alcohol syndrome were taken into consideration by not only the court but also by the state in terms of the sentence he was ready to impose. 

Winward then sentenced Nichols to serve 1-15 years in Utah State Prison on each of the counts, and each sentence is to run concurrently. 

The judge addressed Nichols, saying that his life going forward would be determined by the choices he makes and that he could continue down the road that led to his arrest or “change your life and be the man you were raised to be.”

Nichols must register as a sex offender upon his release and will be placed on post-prison supervision “for a significant amount of time to ensure that he never hurts anybody again,” Winward said. 

The judge closed by saying the defendant would begin his sentence “forthwith” and signed the order to transport Nichols to Utah State Prison. 

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

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