LOGAN — A 46-year-old North Logan man is heading to prison for having sex with a teenage girl. Lance W. Traveller said he had made a bad decision but continued to claim his relationship with the 17-year-old was consensual.
Traveller was sentenced in 1st District Court Tuesday afternoon. He previously pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, a third-degree felony.
In March, detectives began investigating Traveller after the victim’s mom found messages between the two of them. She called police and reported the relationship.
The girl told officers she first met the suspect at the Cache Valley Transit Center. He would provide her alcohol and then the two would engage in sexual activity. He would also take photos of her in various stages of undress, which was considered child pornography because of her age.
During Tuesday’s court appearance, Traveller said he was sorry for what he did. He explained that he wasn’t trying to hurt anyone.
Cache County deputy attorney Jacob Gordon asked the court to send the defendant to prison. He said Traveller recognized that the victim was in a vulnerable condition when they met, and took advantage of her for his own desires.
Judge Kevin Allen called Traveller’s actions selfish and can’t be tolerated. He explained that a 17-year-old girl can’t ever consent to having sex with a 46-year-old man. He issued the maximum sentence, zero-to-five-years, explaining that he had a role as judge to send a message to the community that this type of relationship is never acceptable.
Judge Allen went onto to recommend that Traveller embrace the treatment programs available in prison. He said it will help the defendant put his life back together.
This isn’t the first time Traveller has been in trouble. Court records show in October 2017, he was sentenced to serve one-year in jail after being convicted of resisting arrest and possession of a firearm by a restricted person.
Anyone who wants to have a relationship with someone young enough to be their child, is beyond pathetic and gross. Good for the judge for posing the maximum sentence.