This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Ogden • A state Juvenile Justice counselor who worked in Ogden was sentenced Monday to 90 days in jail for having sex with an 18-year-old client.
Victoria Sherrow, 37, was originally charged in 2nd District Court with second-degree felony count of custodial sexual relations with a youth receiving state services in September.
Sherrow pleaded guilty last month to a lesser third-degree felony count of custodial sexual relations with a youth receiving state services.
Judge Mark DeCaria suspended a prison sentence up to five years on the condition that Sherrow serve the jail time with work release and three years probation. In lieu of a fine, she will complete 100 hours of community service, DeCaria ruled.
According to court records, Sherrow admits to having sexual relations with an 18-year-old youth who was receiving youth state services. Court documents do not elaborate about how she met the victim.
Sherrow's attorney, Jim Retallick, asked DeCaria for a lighter sentence Monday, calling 90 days in jail "excessive." He asked for lesser jail time or day reporting for Sherrow, because the victim was a consenting adult and Sherrow has no prior criminal history.
But Deputy Weber County Attorney Teral Tree argued that while the victim was not a minor, Sherrow was still in a position of trust and broke the law.
"She knew better than to go to [the victim's] home," Tree said. "She knew better than to have sex with him. This isn't rocket science."
Retallick said the 18-year-old was living at the dorms at Weber State University at the time of the sexual encounter.
Elizabeth Sollis, a spokeswoman with the Utah Department of Human Services, confirmed in September that Sherrow that worked as a Juvenile Justice counselor out of the agency's Mill Creek Youth Center. She was hired in June 2006 and left the agency on Nov. 29, 2011.
That departure date was the day after the alleged sexual incidents purportedly ended. Court documents said the unspecified sexual acts occurred between Aug. 19 and Nov. 28 of 2011.
Twitter: @jm_miller