ST. GEORGE — A local man was handcuffed by bailiffs at 5th District Court Tuesday after being sentenced to jail on a third-degree felony for arranging to meet what he believed to be a 13-year-old boy for sex. Instead he met an undercover officer during a sting operation.
Ross Robert Woolsey, 50, of Hurricane, was sentenced on one third-degree felony count of enticing a minor by internet or text, amended from a second-degree felony, while one count of the same charge and two third-degree felony charges of dealing in materials harmful to a minor were dismissed under the terms of the plea agreement.
Judge Eric A. Ludlow sentenced Woolsey to serve 180 days at Purgatory Correctional Facility while the prison term was stayed. He was also ordered to pay a $1,500 fine and placed on 36 months of probation with Adult Probation and Parole where he will be subject to all class A sex-offender requirements and restrictions.
Ludlow followed the recommendations as outlined in the presentence investigation that was ordered prior to Tuesday’s hearing, which included information on Woolsey’s background and current situation, any criminal history and the findings of an assessment conducted to determine the chances of the defendant repeating his crimes.
Woolsey was also ordered to participate in substance abuse evaluation and treatment, as well as sex offender treatment, and will be subject to random searches of any computers, cellphone or any other device that can be connected to the internet under the terms of his probation.
Additionally, the defendant was ordered to submit to a DNA test and will be prohibited from frequenting any protected zone – areas where children are known to congregate, such as parks, schools and community pools – and he was ordered not to have any contact with any child under the age of 18 without prior approval from Adult Probation and Parole.
Ludlow ordered Woolsey to begin serving his jail sentence immediately, and at 2:15 p.m. he was handcuffed in the courtroom and transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility.
November sting operation
Woolsey’s arrest was among several others in the Washington County area during a four-day operation that took place in November when authorities conducted an online ad surveillance sting aimed at potential child victims.
The sting was conducted by the Utah Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and Washington County Attorney’s Office. Law enforcement in Washington County have continued to focus on prostitution and human trafficking investigations during the past year by accessing websites where sex is solicited online.
Operation nets seven arrests
The seven suspects involved in the operation were arrested by authorities when they reached the locations where they thought they were meeting with a juvenile. Each was charged with a second-degree felony related to enticing a minor. Court records related to the resulting arrests were initially sealed by the 5th District Court at the request of the Washington County Attorney’s Office until the operation concluded.
The only case where federal charges were filed involved James Allen Wynhoff, 37, of Las Vegas, who appeared in district court in St. George in June for sentencing on one felony count of traveling to engage in sexual acts with a minor after he pleaded guilty to the charge Jan. 28 before U.S. District Judge David Nuffer.
Wynhoff was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison. After his release, he will be placed on supervised release for a term of 20 years with special conditions.
John Spange, 61, of St. George, pleaded guilty in May to one third-degree felony count of enticing a minor by internet or text and is scheduled for sentencing Friday.
Kraig Atkin Powell pleaded guilty – mentally ill to one first-degree felony of aggravated sex abuse of a child and two second-degree felony charges of sexual exploitation of a minor on April 24. Under the plea agreement, nine second-degree felony charges, including eight charges of sexual exploitation of a minor, as well as one count of enticing a minor over the internet were dismissed.
Powell was charged with the crimes after texting a person he believed was a 12-year-old girl, and when he arrived at the pre-arranged location to meet the child, he was arrested by officers who noted in the probably cause statement that Powell “had brought condoms with him to commit the sexual acts with someone he believed to be 12-years-old.”
During an interview with police, Powell allegedly admitted to having more than two gigabytes of child pornography stored on his phone, including photos of a 3-year-old whom he admitted to photographing and inappropriately touching, according to the court record. Powell is scheduled for sentencing Aug. 28.
Harry Leonard Taylor, 41, of Cedar City pleaded guilty in February to one third-degree felony count of enticing a minor by internet or text after it was amended from a second-degree felony under the terms of the plea agreement. On April 2, Taylor was sentenced to 180 days in jail, a sentence which was suspended, and he was given credit for time served. He was also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and placed on 36-months probation where he is subject to all class A sex-offender requirements and restrictions.
Ted Summerhays was sentenced July 3 after he pleaded guilty to third-degree attempting to entice a minor by internet or text, after the charge was reduced from a second-degree felony as part of the plea agreement. The defendant was fined $1,500, but all other details relating to the sentence were made private.
Robert Reed Nuzman, 58, of Hurricane pleaded guilty to one third-degree felony count of enticing a minor by internet or text after it was amended from a second-degree felony under the terms of the plea agreement. He was sentenced July 3 and was ordered to serve 150 days and eligible to time off on his sentence for good behavior. He was also placed on probation for 36 months and fined $1,000.
This report is based on statements from police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
St. George News reporter Mori Kessler contributed to this report.
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