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A former substitute teacher in the Grand County School District has been ordered to prison for sex crimes involving two female students.
Trace Wells, a 25-year-old Moab substitute teacher and coach, pleaded guilty in August to two counts of second-degree felony forcible sexual abuse and two counts of second-degree felony enticing a minor over the Internet
Seventh District Court Judge Lyle R. Anderson on Tuesday sentenced Wells to serve one to 15 years in prison on each count. He ordered the sentence be served concurrently.
The Grand County Attorney's Office in July originally charged Wells with two counts of rape and two counts of object rape, all first-degree felonies. He was also charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, two counts of enticing a minor over the Internet and one count of forcible sex abuse, all second-degree felonies.
As part of a plea bargain, Wells pleaded guilty to lesser charges and the others were dismissed.
The crimes occurred between April and June and involved a 16-year-old and a 15-year-old girl. He sent text messages to the teenagers to entice them into sex, according to charging documents.
Wells was a substitute teacher and coach at Grand County High School in Moab, said Grand County sheriff's Sgt. Kim Neal. Wells had also been a student teacher at Grand County Middle School. He was fired after his arrest.
Court records show Wells pleaded guilty in March 2007 to attempting to supply alcohol to minors in 2006.