This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A former Box Elder County sheriff's deputy accused of sexually assaulting women during a series of traffic stops has reached a plea agreement that could land him in state prison for up to five years.
Scott Womack, 37, reached a deal in 1st District Court in which he will plead no contest to one count of custodial sexual misconduct, a third-degree felony, and two counts of attempted custodial misconduct, class A misdemeanors, according to court records.
Prosecutors have agreed to drop nine additional misdemeanor charges, including official misconduct, lewdness, unlawful detention and theft.
The deal will presumably be finalized at a hearing set for Wednesday before Judge Kevin Allen.
Womack is accused of ordering women to expose parts of their bodies during strip searches during traffic stops on eight different occasions between October 2010 and July 2011, according to charging documents.
He allegedly told the women he was searching for incriminating body art and piercings, and demanded they remove their clothing to reveal intimate areas. He was charged in various jurisdictions in the northern Utah county earlier this year after an investigation by the Weber County Sheriff's Office.
It was not immediately clear how this plea deal will impact cases pending against Womack in federal court. Late last year, it appeared both sides were working toward resolving all the charges in the federal system.
Womack faces eight federal counts of violating civil rights, a misdemeanor offense. A jury trial is set to begin March 6.
Three women who said they were victimized by Womack have filed civil lawsuits that name Womack, Box Elder County Sheriff J. Lynn Yeates, Box Elder County and the Utah Department of Public Safety as defendants.
Yeates has said Womack was fired after one of the alleged victims filed a complaint in July 2011.
Tribune reporter Brooke Adams contributed to this report.
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