Salt Lake man confesses to having sex with teen boy in Sardine Canyon

Booking photo for Crisoforo Najera (Courtesy: Cache County Jail).

LOGAN — A 28-year-old Salt Lake City man has pleaded guilty to having sex with a teenage boy while parked along the highway in Sardine Canyon. Crisoforo Najera accepted a plea deal that will likely expel him from the United State for violating his immigration status.

Najera appeared in 1st District Court Tuesday morning. He pleaded guilty to one count of attempted unlawful sexual activity with a minor, a class A misdemeanor. A second charge against him was dropped by prosecutors as part of the deal.

On the afternoon of March 26, a Utah Highway Patrol trooper spotted a vehicle parked along US-89/91 near the Big Curve. Believing that the occupants may be experiencing engine trouble, he pulled up behind the vehicle.

When the trooper walked up to the side of the car, he found Najera and the victim in the back seat. Both of them had their pants off and were engaged in sexual activity.

Najera was booked into the Cache County Jail. He has remained incarcerated since the arrest.

During Tuesday’s court appearance, public defender Shannon Demler explained that Najera has a federal immigration case pending. He asked the court to sentence his client, so he could be turned over to Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) Agents.

Najera, who had a Spanish interpreter, didn’t speak during the hearing.

Judge Brian Cannell sentenced Najera to the three months he had already served. He also ordered him to pay $716 in restitution to the victim.


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