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Ogden • Like "a spider sitting on its web," Cory C. Campbell waited for teenage girls to enter his home so he could molest them, a Weber County prosecutor told a 2nd District Court judge Thursday.
"When something landed on that web, he goes after them," William Daines said of the 38-year-old Farr West man who admitted touching four 14- and 15-year-old victims.
Campbell had pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree felony forcible sexual abuse, each punishable by a one-to-15-year prison terms.
Judge Michael Lyon on Thursday ordered the three terms to run concurrently, which puts a 15-year limit on Campbell's sentence.
Daines had asked for back-to-back prison terms, with a potential 45-year cap, to send a strong message of deterrence to the community.
But defense attorney Sean Druyon argued that a psychologist found that Campbell was driven by "intimacy issues" rather than a pedophilic attraction to young girls, and that intense therapy could cure him of ever committing a similar crime. Druyon asked the judge to impose probation, one year in jail and treatment at a halfway house.
Druyon noted that scores of supporters had written the court to laud the "incredible things" Campbell had accomplished as a church and community member.
Campbell was an LDS youth leader of male teens at his ward, who apparently did not directly exploit his leadership position in the commission of the crimes. But Daines claimed that when the victims came to Campbell's home, they believed they were visiting "a good, religious family."
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints removed Campbell from his ward position after a police investigation began in January.
Judge Michael Lyon said a prison sentence was appropriate because of the "despicable nature" of Campbell's acts.
But the judge acknowledged that Campbell has many supporters. He called the defendant "a good person" who made "some very poor, wrong choices, and they come with consequences."
During an April preliminary hearing, a 14-year-old girl, who is a friend of Campbell's stepdaughter, testified she was staying at his home for a week while her mother was out of town, when he touched her beneath her clothing while she was trying to fall asleep on a living room couch.
That girl, and two others, all testified Thursday they now have trouble trusting men.
"When a man is nice to me, I wonder what they want from me," one girl told the judge. "I wonder about my future and if I will ever be able to fully trust a man."
Another girl who said she once thought of Campbell "as a second dad" said she now feels "very betrayed."
The judge urged the girls to obtain counseling to allow them to move on with their lives.
"I hope that in time you can heal and come to recognize ... the goodness that is in other men," Lyon said.
Campbell, who sobbed and wiped tears throughout the 50-minute-long hearing, apologized profusely during his turn to speak.
"I won't ask you to forgive me," Campbell told the girls. "What I did was horrible, and I do not deserve your forgiveness."
He added, "I've been on my knees every night asking God to help my victims."