Washington City man convicted of sexual abuse of a child sentenced to jail

Composite image | Background photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News, overlay booking photo of Lamar Woodbury taken in Washington County, Utah, Oct. 31, 2019 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff's Office, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A Washington City man was sentenced to serve time in jail after pleading guilty to two felony counts of sexual abuse of a child during a hearing held in 5th District Court Thursday.

Lamar Woodbury, 66, appeared before 5th District Judge G. Michael Westfall for a sentencing hearing Thursday on two second-degree felony counts of sexual abuse of a child.

The case was filed nearly a year ago following an investigation into a report of a sex offense involving a child by St. George Police detectives. According to police, the incident reportedly took place in October 2019 when the child was being cared for while the parents were on vacation, according to charging documents filed in 5th District Court.

Upon the parents’ return, they learned that Woodbury allegedly entered a bedroom and performed a sex act on the child. When confronted with the allegations, the parents told officers that Woodbury “broke down and cried” and then admitted to touching the child inappropriately but denied performing any other sexual acts.

On Oct. 31 of last year, Woodbury then turned himself over to police in the parking lot of the Washington County Jail and was released from custody a short time later after posting bond.

Lamar Woodbury, 65, of Washington City, booking photo taken in Washington County, Utah, Oct. 31, 2019 | File photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

Woodbury, who has no prior criminal history on file, pleaded guilty to the charges that were amended to second-degree felony sexual abuse of a child during a hearing held in March, and a presentence investigation report was ordered.

As part of the plea deal, the prosecution agreed to not include a prison sentence as part of the state’s recommendation after consulting with the victim’s family, but they did recommend that Group A conditions be ordered in the case —  including the lifetime sex offender registry requirement — since the offenses involved a child.

The prison term of 1-15 years for each of the counts was suspended in the case, along with $38,000 in fines.

Instead, Woodbury was sentenced to serve a year in county jail. The defendant was also placed on 48-months supervised probation through Adult Probation and Parole and was ordered to comply with all terms of his probation upon his release, requirements that include completing sex-offender therapy, submitting to random polygraph examinations, adherence to a curfew, maintaining full-time employment, as well as a number of other release conditions. He is also required to register as a sex offender for life.

Westfall ordered Woodbury to report to the jail by 5 p.m. on Nov. 1 to begin serving out his sentence.

This report is based on statements from court records, police or corrections records and may not contain the full scope of findings.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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