Teh One Who Knocks
02-02-2012, 11:18 PM
By Kevin Jenkins - The Spectrum
http://i.imgur.com/AQV1T.jpg
ST. GEORGE - A personal fitness trainer convicted of sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy she worked with during 2008 and 2009 was sentenced to a minimum of one and maximum of 15 years in prison Tuesday during a hearing in 5th District Court.
Suni Faith Andersen, 36, of St. George pleaded guilty in November to two counts of forcible sexual abuse as part of a plea agreement in which prosecutors agreed to dismiss three additional counts of forcible sexual abuse and five counts of forcible sodomy.
"This is a picture of my son when he was 14 years old," the victim's mother said while holding up a photo during Tuesday's hearing. "Look. Suni, look! Does this look like someone a 34-year-old adult woman would want to have a relationship with?"
The victim, now 16, and his family are not being identified in agreement with The Spectrum's policy regarding victims of sexual abuse, but the court took note of the family's claims that their identity is widely known in the community.
"I have to walk through the halls of my high school knowing that people know what happened, wondering what they're thinking," the boy told Judge Eric Ludlow.
The boy said some girls have wanted to date him because he is "experienced" and when other boys have questions about sexuality they say "just ask (him)," he said.
Deputy County Attorney Ryan Shaum said the landlord of Andersen's residence has reported that people refer to it as the place where the sexual abuse occurred. Shaum asked the court to change the address in the court's records so the landlord would not continue to be victimized.
Andersen's family has since moved to a small town in Montana where Andersen allegedly worked with her husband in coaching youth, Shaum said, citing a conversation between Andersen and an Adult Probation and Parole officer that defense attorney Thomas Ericsson refuted as "not substantiated."
The sheriff of Ravali County, Mont. told local media outlets there last month that his office was investigating to determine if anything inappropriate had happened after receiving complaints from the students' parents about Andersen's proximity to the youths.
Ericsson also refuted rumors that Andersen had victimized other youths in Utah, and now that Andersen has been sentenced, she will be required to register as a sex offender, he said.
Andersen and her husband Jason told Ludlow they have lost "several jobs" as a result of her actions, have given up their careers in fitness training and school coaching and have been undergoing counseling together.
"I ask that you may have a tender heart and allow my children to continue to have a mom in the home," Jason told Ludlow.
"Suni Andersen is a pedophile of the worst kind," the victim's mother countered.
"You said to my son, 'Well, you learned a whole lot, didn't you?' How dare you!" she said, referring to a telephone conversation between Andersen and the boy that was recorded by the police without Andersen's knowledge.
Ludlow praised the boy for his courage in facing Andersen in court, noting Andersen had "put a guilt trip" on the boy during their phone conversation while asking him not to hurt her family by telling others.
Both Andersen and the victim had about a dozen supporters each in the courtroom audience and some passed a tissue box around during the comments.
Andersen collapsed after she was sentenced and handcuffed by a court bailiff and her husband and other supporters wept loudly in the audience before they were escorted out of the courtroom.
"She supposedly passed out - fainted - and she did hit her head on the edge of the table on the way down," the bailiff reported into her radio as she checked to see if an ambulance was en route.
Andersen recovered and the bailiff searched her for any dangerous objects while she was seated in a court chair, removing Andersen's boots and informing her she'd be taken to the hospital on the way to jail.
http://i.imgur.com/AQV1T.jpg
ST. GEORGE - A personal fitness trainer convicted of sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy she worked with during 2008 and 2009 was sentenced to a minimum of one and maximum of 15 years in prison Tuesday during a hearing in 5th District Court.
Suni Faith Andersen, 36, of St. George pleaded guilty in November to two counts of forcible sexual abuse as part of a plea agreement in which prosecutors agreed to dismiss three additional counts of forcible sexual abuse and five counts of forcible sodomy.
"This is a picture of my son when he was 14 years old," the victim's mother said while holding up a photo during Tuesday's hearing. "Look. Suni, look! Does this look like someone a 34-year-old adult woman would want to have a relationship with?"
The victim, now 16, and his family are not being identified in agreement with The Spectrum's policy regarding victims of sexual abuse, but the court took note of the family's claims that their identity is widely known in the community.
"I have to walk through the halls of my high school knowing that people know what happened, wondering what they're thinking," the boy told Judge Eric Ludlow.
The boy said some girls have wanted to date him because he is "experienced" and when other boys have questions about sexuality they say "just ask (him)," he said.
Deputy County Attorney Ryan Shaum said the landlord of Andersen's residence has reported that people refer to it as the place where the sexual abuse occurred. Shaum asked the court to change the address in the court's records so the landlord would not continue to be victimized.
Andersen's family has since moved to a small town in Montana where Andersen allegedly worked with her husband in coaching youth, Shaum said, citing a conversation between Andersen and an Adult Probation and Parole officer that defense attorney Thomas Ericsson refuted as "not substantiated."
The sheriff of Ravali County, Mont. told local media outlets there last month that his office was investigating to determine if anything inappropriate had happened after receiving complaints from the students' parents about Andersen's proximity to the youths.
Ericsson also refuted rumors that Andersen had victimized other youths in Utah, and now that Andersen has been sentenced, she will be required to register as a sex offender, he said.
Andersen and her husband Jason told Ludlow they have lost "several jobs" as a result of her actions, have given up their careers in fitness training and school coaching and have been undergoing counseling together.
"I ask that you may have a tender heart and allow my children to continue to have a mom in the home," Jason told Ludlow.
"Suni Andersen is a pedophile of the worst kind," the victim's mother countered.
"You said to my son, 'Well, you learned a whole lot, didn't you?' How dare you!" she said, referring to a telephone conversation between Andersen and the boy that was recorded by the police without Andersen's knowledge.
Ludlow praised the boy for his courage in facing Andersen in court, noting Andersen had "put a guilt trip" on the boy during their phone conversation while asking him not to hurt her family by telling others.
Both Andersen and the victim had about a dozen supporters each in the courtroom audience and some passed a tissue box around during the comments.
Andersen collapsed after she was sentenced and handcuffed by a court bailiff and her husband and other supporters wept loudly in the audience before they were escorted out of the courtroom.
"She supposedly passed out - fainted - and she did hit her head on the edge of the table on the way down," the bailiff reported into her radio as she checked to see if an ambulance was en route.
Andersen recovered and the bailiff searched her for any dangerous objects while she was seated in a court chair, removing Andersen's boots and informing her she'd be taken to the hospital on the way to jail.