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- Ward pleads guilty in unlawful sexual conduct with minors
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By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
Leisa M. Ward of Nephi, a 37-year-old mother of four, pleaded guilty Thursday to 11 felony counts of unlawful sexual conduct involving five boys aged 16-17.
Ward faced Judge Donald J. Eyre Jr. in 4th District Court in Nephi, waived her right to trial by jury and entered guilty pleas to 11 charges.
Ward will now be sentenced Feb. 28 at 9 a.m. in 4th District Court by Judge Eyre.
“We are satisfied with the negotiated resolution,” said AnnMarie Howard, Senior Deputy Juab County Attorney. “The guilty pleas do indicate a reasonable level of accountability.”
The plea bargain provided respite from the stress of a trial for victims who would be called upon to testify. A trial also requires a much longer wait and causes much more stress for those victims. In addition, the pleas entered allowed Ward to show answerability.
“We had an early indication from her counsel, Michael D. Esplin, that she wanted to accept responsibility for her actions and move into the process of the consequences,” said Howard.
All counts are third degree felonies. A third degree felony, in Utah, can carry a fine not to exceed $5,000 and incarceration not to exceed five years.
On 11 separate occasions with five separate individuals ages 16 or 17 Leisa Ward admitted her guilt in engaging in sexual acts with the young males. Those acts occurred between August and November 2007 in Juab County.
Ward was asked by Eyre if she realized that by pleading guilty to the charges she waived certain rights. One of those was a jury trial and a chance to face the witnesses in open court and another was the right to appeal.
Ward, with counsel at her side, said she understood the guilty plea and then, count by count, replied to each charge with: “Guilty.”
She was arrested Nov. 19 after police investigated “rumors” that turned out to be true, said Nephi Police Officer Derek Walk.
Ward met the boys through interaction in the community, not through her children, Walk said.
She originally faced 13 counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a 16- or 17-year-old and two counts of lewdness adding up to 15 charges in all. In her plea, she agreed to plead guilty to 11 charges with the stipulation that the county would not file any more charges if more victims came forward.
Howard, as prosecutor, said it was agreed to drop two third-degree felony charges of unlawful sexual conduct with a 16- or 17-year-old, and two misdemeanor charges of lewdness, bringing 15 charges to 11.
“We are satisfied that officer Derek Walk has been thorough in his investigation and in interviewing victims and possible victims,” said Howard. “He has spent many, many hours working on every possible lead.”
“I think we made contact with every individual involved. I think we came full circle,” said Walk.
The reactions of the victims varied, he said.
“Some don’t feel like victims,” he said. “They are ashamed. They feel that they have made some mistakes in this as well. Some of them are having a hard time; some of them don’t think it’s a big deal.”
Ward did not identify the victims but Walk said he was satisfied with the police work done and with the plea.
Thursday’s entry of a plea in Juab’s 4th District Court comes less than two months after the case was filed.
“We credit good police work with the early resolution,” Howard said.
Walk said he was helped with some of the interviews by NCPD officer Burt Wright.
“This case consumed a lot of time,” said Walk.
The illegal—even though consensual—sexual acts began with flirting that got out of hand, Walk said.
“These relationships were kind of intermingled in the time frame, between August and November,” Walk said. “It was an ongoing relationship with the five boys.”
Esplin called Ward’s actions an “aberration of conduct.” He stated that Ward has no other felonies on her record.
Esplin told the court that Ward had, of her own volition, already had a psycho-sexual evaluation done.
“She did it on her own,” he said.
Typically, in cases where sexual misconduct charges are levied, it is the court who orders the evaluation. Esplin said the results of the evaluation would be shared with the court.
Ward’s husband, members of her family and her husband’s family were in court to support her, Esplin said.
“I’ve been here about 12 years and never seen this many boys involved in a single case,” Howard said. “Not this extensive; not this many boys.”
It had been a shock and a surprise to most people who knew her, said Walk.
“We hope through this process she gets help so this can work out for her and for her family. We just can’t imagine why she’s done this,” said Walk.
“I’ve had cases where I’ve had adult female sex offenders and juvenile male victims and where we filed charges and she did jail time, but never with more than one victim,” Walk said.
Ward had been a substitute teacher in the Juab County School District from December 2005 until March 2006 but was let go as she was not meeting expectations, said Juab District Superintendent Kirk Wright. “Administrators just didn’t think she was an effective substitute,” he said.
She worked at Juab High School and occasionally in the elementary schools but was not involved with the schools when the abuse occurred.
“Obviously it’s caused some problems for her children,” said Esplin. “They’re dealing with it, and are going to family counseling.”
“I really think one of the tragedies in this case is what her children are having to put up with,” said Juab County Attorney Jared Eldridge.
Eldridge recused himself from the case because he knows the Ward family.
“Leisa Ward did what she did and she’ll have to be responsible for that, but her family is suffering.”
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