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Farmington • A former Utah camp counselor accused of sexually abusing a boy he met through a Mormon youth program was sentenced to prison on Monday.

Keldon S. Cook, 29, pleaded guilty in October to four third-degree felonies — one count of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor and three counts of unlawful conduct with a 16- or 17-year-old — admitting in court documents that he had sexual contact with a then-16-year-old boy that he met years earlier at an Especially For Youth overnight program at Brigham Young University.

On Monday, 2nd District Judge Michael Allphin sentenced the former EFY counselor to four concurrent zero-to-five year prison sentences, telling Cook that he abused a position of trust he had.

"Regardless of what was going on in that young man's life, it was certainly inappropriate for you to do what you did," Allphin told the defendant. "Whether or not you thought it was illegal was irrelevant. It was morally wrong."

The defendant's attorney, Melanie Cook, told the judge that her client didn't think his conduct was illegal because the victim was 16 years old at the time. She said he is remorseful for his crimes, and had no criminal history before the charges were filed in April.

When given a chance to speak, Keldon Cook cried as he apologized to the victim and his family.

"I am sorry," he said. "I am embarrassed and ashamed. I am full of regret. I made a terrible choice ... From the bottom of my heart, I am deeply sorry. I hope [the victim and his family] can feel the sincerity of my remorse."

Cook was initially charged with four counts of first-degree felony forcible sodomy; as well as second-degree felony counts of forcible sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of a minor; and dealing in harmful materials to a minor by an adult, which is a third-degree felony. Those charges were reduced as part of a plea deal.

The sexual contact occurred between March 2014 and March 2015, according to court records. Earlier this year, the then-17-year-old boy told investigators that when he was 14 he met Cook at an Especially For Youth overnight program at BYU. The teen and Cook communicated for the next two years.

"During these conversations, [Cook] talked to him in a 'disgusting way' and asked him inappropriate questions that were very confusing to the minor male because he 'looked up' to the defendant as [he] was his mentor and counselor at EFY," charging documents state.

When the boy was 16, the two were "catching up" at a Davis County park when Cook made sexual advances, charges state. The boy told police that Cook "persuaded him that the contact they had was acceptable ... because he was his EFY counselor," the charges add.

Cook also sexually abused the boy two other times, charges state.

Police arrested Cook in April, at which time he admitted to "having a sexual relationship" with the boy, according to a probable cause statement.

Cook had worked as an assistant cheer coach at Alta High School during the 2014-2015 school year, but district officials do not believe he abused any students there.