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An Ogden man once accused of kidnapping and sexually abusing a teen boy in 2013 pleaded guilty to reduced charges on Wednesday.
Ryan Mitchell Schaffer, 34, pleaded guilty in 2nd District Court to third-degree felony unlawful sexual activity with a minor, as well as third-degree felony sex offender registry violation and misdemeanor violation by a sex offender in a restricted area.
Two other charges of unlawful sexual activity with a minor were dismissed as part of a plea deal.
Schaffer was originally charged in 2013 with aggravated kidnapping and forcible sodomy — accused of kidnapping the victim from an Ogden train station and forcing the then-14-year-old boy to commit sexual acts — but those charges were amended to the three counts of unlawful sexual activity in January 2014.
Schaffer's attorney, Paul Remy, and prosecutors have previously declined to comment on why the charges were reduced. Remy on Wednesday again declined to comment.
The defendant is expected back in court again on Nov. 24 for sentencing before Judge Michael DeCaria.
Though the third-degree felony convictions carry a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison, prosecutors have agreed to recommend that Schaffer serve another year in jail, with the option to be released to a sex offender treatment program in six months, according to plea agreement documents.
Schaffer admitted in the documents to having illegal sexual contact with the boy, and admitted that he "provided false or incomplete information" for his sex offender registry requirement.
He also admitted to being in a park on Jan. 7 — which violated his sex offender restrictions.
Schaffer is a registered sex offender in Utah, stemming from a 2007 case in Salt Lake County in which he pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree felony sexual exploitation of a minor.