GRANTSVILLE, Utah, Dec. 11, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A Grantsville man has pleaded guilty to 11 felonies related to sexual abuse of six children, and requested immediate sentencing.
Mark Andrew Swan, 48, on Tuesday pleaded guilty to:
- Eight counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony, based on incidents that occured on or near Oct. 26, 2013 and on July 3 and 6, 2019
- Sexual abuse of a child, a second-degree felony, based on incidents that occurred on or near July 6, 2019
- Two counts of attempted sexual abuse of a child, a third-degree felony, based on incidents that occurred on or near July 18, 2015
Swan was sentenced to spend 39 years in the Utah State Jail until he will be eligible for parole. If parole were granted on first application, he would be released at 87.
On Wednesday, the Tooele County Attorney’s Office posted the following statement:
As previously reported in the news, the Tooele County Attorney’s Office has been prosecuting Mark Swan for numerous incidents of child sex abuse involving six victims. On Dec. 10, 2019, Mr. Swan pled guilty to eight first degree felonies with each carrying a sentence of 15 years to life in the Utah State Prison.
In addition, he pled guilty to three other felonies. Mr. Swan elected to be sentenced immediately and he was sent to the Utah State Prison. According the Judge Bates, the sentencing guidelines indicate that Mr. Swan won’t be eligible for parole for at least 39 years.
Deputy County Attorney Rob Clegg did a terrific job in handling this complicated and difficult case involving many child victims and their families. These young victims were courageous in telling their stories of abuse and confronting their abuser. The Grantsville Police Department and the Children’s Justice Center did a great job in developing the evidence needed to obtain these convictions.
Although it is a relief that Mr. Swan will never be able harm another child, he has left a wide path of destruction in the lives of these children and families. These young victims and their families will continue to need our community’s support.
Scott Broadhead, Tooele County Attorney
