Brigham Daniel Darger Kanab Pedophile
Brigham Daniel Darger Kanab Pedophile

A 40-year-old Pedophile from Kanab, Brigham Daniel Darger, guilty of numerous felony charges related to child sexual abuse, has received a sentence of at least 30 years in prison.

Brigham Daniel Darger received his sentence on May 22 from 6th District Judge Alex Goble.

During a two-day trial that ended on April 1 in Kanab, an eight-member jury convicted Brigham Daniel Darger on nine of the ten charges, specifically six counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, each classified as a first-degree felony; one count of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony; and two counts of lewdness involving a child, categorised as class A misdemeanours.

During the sentencing hearing on May 22, Goble said that the six first-degree felony convictions entail obligatory prison sentences.

“I lack the authority to decide on the imposition of prison sentences,” he stated. “The issue at hand is the duration of the sentence, specifically whether a term shorter than 15 years to life may be administered.”

Goble stated: “Considering the information presented by Mr. Brigham Daniel Darger, both directly and via his report to Adult Probation and Parole, alongside the details provided by prosecutor Mr. Jeffrey Stott, I find no legal justification for imposing a sentence less than the mandatory minimum.”

Goble mandated that five of the 15-to-life sentences be served consecutively, resulting in a minimum of 75 years of incarceration; however, the judge acknowledged that Utah Code 76-3-401 restricts the total maximum to 30 years.

“I wish to clarify that, in my opinion, each victim merits the complete enforcement of the sentence, not merely two of them,” Goble stated for clarification.

The allegations against Brigham Daniel Darger originated from reports made to the Kane County Sheriff’s Office in January 2023, in which several female minors disclosed that they had been sexually abused and molested by Brigham Daniel Darger approximately five years prior, during the summer of 2018. The girls were aged 8 to 14 at the time of the incidents, as stated in the charging affidavit.

During the trial, the jury heard the testimony of several witnesses, including the girls who had reported the abuse. However, Brigham Daniel Darger himself, who acted as his own attorney during the proceedings, did not present any evidence or witnesses of his own, nor did he testify in his own defense.

In a written victim impact statement filed with the court on May 16, multiple unnamed accusers collectively shared their concerns about Brigham Daniel Darger, stating, “He needs to be removed from society or this will happen again.”

The statement also said Brigham Daniel Darger had failed to take responsibility or accountability.

“Based on his actions at the trial/cross examination, it is evident that Brigham feels that the only crime here is that he got caught,” the statement said. “He didn’t express any remorse or apology for his actions. And if it was all ‘not that bad’ or an ‘accident,’ why are there 23 girls who’ve accused him?”

During the sentencing hearing, Jeff Stott, the Kane County Attorney, noted that while Brigham Daniel Darger did allegedly abuse multiple other victims, the prosecution of the current case was limited to the crimes that had occurred within the county.

“There were other incidents that they talked about (in the police report) that happened in other jurisdictions, but we only brought charges according to what happened here in Kane County,” he said.

Stott called Brigham Daniel Darger “an opportunist” who would find ways to isolate young girls.

“It was, could he get a girl alone?,” Stott told the court, adding, “Could he even just sit next to one while there’s others in the room? Could he go on a ride with one alone? It was almost like, any chance he could get. He was sexually assaulting up to five different girls in different situations. To me, that shows he really is a danger.”

The mother of at least one of the girls also briefly addressed the court during the sentencing hearing, saying that children feel “broken, scared, frozen, torn apart, and worthless” when they have been sexually abused.

“How do we as women reconsecrate our holiness and purity after we have been defiled, used and abused?” she said. “A woman’s body is designed for creation. We create with our thoughts, our actions and our intentions. The body of the woman is a sacred vessel through which life gets created. Each one of us, women, as a child or as an adult, need strong men. We need protectors. We need men who will go to war for us, not hurt us.”

Brigham Daniel Darger, who has already filed an appeal to the Utah State Supreme Court, briefly addressed Judge Goble right before the sentence was imposed.

“I have apologized to these individuals and tried to talk about what actually happened,” Brigham Daniel Darger said. “I do want to apologize to anybody that I have offended and hurt unintentionally.”

Brigham Daniel Darger appeared to take issue with how the proceedings have been documented.

“There is no place on the record where the court recorded the nature and cause of the proceedings, especially if this is administrative proceedings, or if it’s Article III, Court of Common Law,” Brigham Daniel Darger said.

Goble then interjected, saying, “You can argue that all you want; it’s not going to do anything for sentencing purposes, OK?”

The judge then asked Brigham Daniel Darger if he had anything else to add, whereupon Brigham Daniel Darger asked if he could be released.

“I have a home and ties to the community, I’m not a flight risk, and also I’m not a danger to anyone,” Brigham Daniel Darger said. “If I could ask the court if I could be discharged, so that I could properly present my appeal, which is a right through the Constitution for someone that’s defending their self.”

Goble didn’t respond to the request other than to thank Brigham Daniel Darger for his comments. The judge proceeded to impose sentencing, handing down the maximum prison terms allowed by law.

“Mr. Brigham Daniel Darger, you have never expressed any remorse or accepted the verdict that the jury imposed in this case, following the evidence that was presented at trial,” Goble said after he’d imposed the sentence.

“There’s nothing I can do today that will undo what was done to these children, the victims of your crime, but by imposing the sentences as required by statute, I can make it so that you are only a part of their past and you will never be a part of their future,” the judge added.

Goble, who did not impose any fines or fees, ordered that Brigham Daniel Darger be transported to Utah State Prison to begin serving his sentence.

“I do note for the record you have filed your appeal,” Goble added. “You do have a right to appeal, and you can handle that through the appellate process, as is authorized by Utah State law.”


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