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Tooele » As he prepared to leave his 17-year-old daughter at Jonathan R. Carver's group home for troubled girls last year, the father pulled in Carver and gave him a hug.
Then, the father recalled in a Tooele courtroom, he looked Carver in the eyes.
"I had no idea at that time I was looking in the eyes of a predator," the father said.
Third District Court Judge Stephen Henriod on Tuesday sentenced Carver to five consecutive terms of one to 15 years in prison for raping the girl. Carver, 29, and his wife oversaw a home for troubled girls in Erda called Alpine Academy.
In a guilty plea entered in August, Carver admitted to having sex at least 20 times with the 17-year-old late last year. Tooele County Attorney Doug Hogan on Tuesday said the girl, whose family is from Georgia, has emotional problems. The Salt Lake Tribune generally does not identify victims of sex crimes.
Carver said he would "do anything" to change what happened.
"I know I need help," he told the courtroom.
Carver's attorney, Jon D. Williams, asked for concurrent sentences, saying the sex came as Carver was having marital problems and a "religious crisis." Concurrent sentences would have made Carver eligible for parole in 2010.
Instead, Carver will serve at least five years in prison and a maximum of 30.
Hogan and the victim's parents asked for the consecutive sentences. Hogan said Carver used his knowledge of the girl's problems to manipulate her, coached the girl on how to conceal the relationship and described the relationship as an affair rather than abuse.
The girl's father told the courtroom how he and his wife sent their daughter to Alpine Academy to treat her emotional issues, but his daughter has permanent emotional scars from Carver.
"We are all in the presence of evil right now," the father said, with Carver standing a few feet away with his attorney and a bailiff.
In explaining his sentence, Henriod noted Carver has blamed the victim at times and appeared to lie during a court-ordered evaluation following his guilty plea so he could have a favorable outcome at sentencing.
"I see no sign of true remorse," Henriod said. "I cannot not focus on the position of trust Mr. Carver was in."
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