Cheryl and Mark Sudweeks, co-owners of Whitmore Academy in Nephi, are selling the historic mansion that houses the school, a nine-bedroom home with a pool and commercial-size kitchen listed for $649,000. The couple also have posted some of their horses for sale over the Internet.

The Sudweekses did not immediately respond to calls for comment on Monday. Their attorney Jim Merrell couldn't say when, or even if, the school would be closed.

"All I know is they've had to scale back their operations as a result of prosecution," said Merrell. Last July, 32 students were enrolled at the school. Merrell estimates about 10 remain.

Last May, the Sudweekses received a conditional use permit from Juab County to expand their operations. Plans for the property included a facility for equine therapy, according to county zoning officials, who could not say whether the Sudweekses have abandoned that plan.

Cheryl Sudweeks faces criminal child abuse charges in Utah. She was charged with five misdemeanor counts of child abuse and two counts of hazing for allegedly humiliating and physically harming four children under her care in 2003 and 2004.

Merrell said the case, which was transferred last summer to a Provo judge, is at a standstill. "Nothing has happened for months. No pretrial conference has been set," he said.

Juab County Attorney Jared Eldridge could not be reached for comment Monday.

The abuse case is not the first criminal allegation to plague the Sudweekses. In 2002, Canadian authorities discovered a herd of starving horses at their British Columbia youth program. Mark Sudweeks was fined and prohibited from owning or caring for animals.

In 2001, the pair was banished from Mexico for illegally operating a teen program in violation of their tourist visas.

More recently, the fire marshal cited Whitmore for safety violations. Also, regulators over Utah's thriving teen help industry have complained that the Sudweekses are trying to duck regulation.

Inspectors want to bring the business under regulation, arguing it qualifies as a therapeutic facility, but the school is fighting that designation.

kstewart@sltrib.com