YOUR AD HERE »

Stansbury Park man sentenced for sexual abuse

A Stansbury Park man was sentenced last week to 525 days in jail after he admitted to sexually abusing a subordinate while at work.

Eliterse Jose Hernandez-Arias, age 46, pleaded guilty in April to attempted forcible sexual abuse, a third-degree felony, and sexual battery, a Class A misdemeanor. Third District Court Judge Todd Shaughnessy imposed the sentence on July 25. Hernandez-Arias faced up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine for attempted forcible sexual abuse, the most serious charge.

“I think it was a good resolution for everyone involved,” said Joy Natale, Summit County prosecutor. “The victim is satisfied and feels like it holds him accountable.

“She was very traumatized over this,” Natale said.

In July 2014, Hernandez-Arias was arrested and charged with object rape and forcible sexual abuse after he assaulted a 22-year-old housekeeping employee in a hotel room, according to court documents.

Hernandez-Arias was released in August after posting $50,000 bond. At the time, he was a supervisor at the Grand Summit Hotel at Park City Mountain Resort. According to a statement from Park City Mountain Resort, he is no longer an employee at the hotel.

“Park City Mountain Resort does not tolerate violence or harassment of any kind. We take all allegations seriously and take immediate action to include law enforcement,” the statement said.

Natale said Hernandez-Arias accepted a plea bargain in lieu of the original charges, adding that it is “pretty common in these cases.” She said he did not have a prior criminal history and no other victims have claimed that Hernandez-Arias acted in a similar manner toward them. However, she encouraged anyone to come forward if they have.

“Obviously if there are other people would like to know about it and we encourage them to contact police,” Natale said.

The attempted forcible sexual abuse charge will place Hernandez-Arias on the sex offender’s registry for 10 years after his release. He was also sentenced to 36 months of supervised probation.

“We talked with the victim several times about it and she was satisfied with this resolution rather than going forward and going to trial,” Natale said. “She felt that he really took advantage of her, especially because he was her supervisor and she really felt like he took advantage of his position over her, as well as her youth and vulnerability.”

An attorney for Hernandez-Arias was unavailable to comment.

Summit County


See more

Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Park City and Summit County make the Park Record's work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.