A 38-year-old Cottonwood Heights man who was already under lifetime federal sex-offender supervision is accused of using a children’s game at a Salt Lake City birthday party to get close to a 12-year-old girl. Prosecutors are asking that he remain jailed without bail, turning an ordinary gathering into the latest flashpoint in a long criminal history involving children.
According to KSL.com, Skyler Ray Pettingill was charged Thursday in 3rd District Court with aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony. Charging documents say Pettingill attended the Salt Lake City party on Saturday, approached children about playing hide-and-seek, insisted on forming teams and selected the girl to be on his team. He is accused of touching her inappropriately while the two were hiding.
The girl told police she felt "violated, disgusted, and unsafe" after the interaction, court documents state. Prosecutors described the alleged conduct as calculated and targeted and requested that Pettingill be held in the Salt Lake County Jail without the possibility of posting bail, as reported by KSL.com.
A lengthy record involving children
An archived report by KSL.com said Pettingill was convicted in Utah in 2008 of attempted sexual abuse of a child and in 2013 of lewdness involving a child. That report also said he faced a 2018 charge after investigators alleged he communicated online with an undercover federal agent posing as a 13-year-old boy.
The current charging documents say Pettingill was released on parole related to his Utah convictions in 2017, then later received a federal conviction connected to soliciting a minor online. Prosecutors say he is now subject to federal sex-offender supervision for the rest of his life.
What the first-degree charge means
Utah’s aggravated sexual abuse of a child statute applies when an alleged sexual-abuse offense is paired with an aggravating circumstance, including a prior sexual conviction or allegations that the accused was a stranger to the child or made friends with the child to commit the offense. The Utah Legislature classifies the offense as a first-degree felony, generally carrying a prison term of at least 15 years that may extend to life, although any sentence would depend on what is proved in court and the findings made in the case.
The allegations have not been adjudicated, and Pettingill is presumed innocent unless prosecutors prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt. The immediate court question is whether he will remain jailed while the case moves through the Third District Court process.
