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A Salt Lake City woman who used a computer to paste the likeness of a 13-year-old girl onto a photo depicting bestiality and then distributed the fliers at the victim's school was sentenced Monday to a year in jail and three years of probation.
Danette Stark, 37, gave a tearful apology during her 3rd District Court sentencing hearing.
But Prosecutor Blake Hills said that in Stark's letters to the court and presentence investigators, she appeared to be "most of all sorry for herself." Hills also said Stark blames the victim for what happened.
Hills said Stark deserved prison time because it was a "very deliberate, planned-out" crime that was designed to "intimidate and terrorize" the teen.
Third District Judge Royal Hansen instead ordered the jail time. But if Stark fails to complete her probation, she faces up to 15 years on each of three second-degree felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, to which she pleaded guilty.
"The victim is without fault," the judge said, adding Stark's conduct "created consequences that are significant."
The incident stemmed from an ongoing dispute between Stark and the victim's mother. The victim, who was friends with Stark's daughter, had been secretly talking with Stark online. The victim's mother found the relationship inappropriate and asked Stark to end it, sparking a dispute between the two women.
In May, Stark created the fliers and put them in student lockers and a rest room at Northwest Middle School, where both girls attended classes.
Said defense attorney Gregory Smith, "Somebody can have an irrational day."
Smith said Stark created the fliers after finding a note on her windshield that read in part "we can kill you." He said Stark assumed the note was from the girl's family.
Noting that Stark had already served nearly three months behind bars, Smith argued against more jail time. He pointed out that Stark has a clean record except for a 1995 retail theft conviction.
Smith also claimed Stark had been punished by the extensive publicity generated by the case, which has caused her both national and international disgrace.
Smith insisted that in Stark's letters to the court, she was merely trying to explain her actions, not justify them.
"She repents," Smith told the judge. "I don't know how else to say it — she repents."
The victim said of Stark, "I loved her and her daughter so much, but I don't want her to hurt anyone else."
The girl's mother said that the experience has left her daughter unable to eat or sleep. "I just want my baby protected," the girl's mother told the judge.
Stark's 36-month probation includes paying a $1,070 fine, writing a letter of apology to the victim, and completing anger management, parenting and thinking-errors classes. The judge gave Stark credit for the 81 days in jail she has already served.