Case on hold for Smithfield man accused of child sex abuse

LOGAN — The case against Daniel Stapley, who is charged with multiple sexual offenses, is on hold while attorneys wait for an expert’s report to be completed. The 43-year-old Smithfield man was arrested last year and charged with downloading child pornography and sexually abusing a child.

Stapley appeared in 1st District Court Monday morning. He has been bound over on charges that he allegedly downloaded child pornography and molested a five-year-old girl.

In December 2016, Stapley was arrested after investigators received evidence that he was accessing images of child porn over the internet. Deputies served a search warrant to his parent’s home, where he was living in the basement. They seized his smart phone and took it as evidence. He was later charged with seven counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of sex abuse of a child, all second-degree felonies.

Prosecutors later charged the defendant with one count of sexually abusing a child, a second-degree felony, claiming Stapley touched a young girl while buckling the child into a car seat. The assault allegedly took place in 2015, at a campsite in the High Creek area.

During Monday’s hearing, defense attorney Wayne Caldwell told the court an evaluation was done on Stapley. The report has not been completed yet, prompting Caldwell to ask for more time.

Judge Thomas Willmore ordered Stapley to return to court on January 3. The Smithfield man is currently out on bail and could face up to life in prison if found guilty.

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