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Guest Editorial: Summit County needs a bold voice for victims

Sarah Tueting and Dan Lemaitre, Park CityWe write to share our story as the parents of victims in the Summit County justice system and to urge voters to support Judge Robert Hilder in the upcoming election for Summit County Attorney.

In January of 2012, our childcare provider, a Utah native, broke our eight-week old son’s legs and bruised our infant daughter. Unbeknownst to us at the time, she was also the subject of an Interpol warrant, wanted for questioning on suspicion of child abuse, including 10 broken bones on two-week old Belgian twins. The injuries to the four infants had all the earmarks of a serial child abuser who actively sought opportunities to work with children or babies at a children’s hospital in Salt Lake City and in private homes around the world.

All crime is ugly. But crimes against infants are particularly depraved because the victims can neither defend themselves, nor tell anyone about their terror or abuse. As victims, infants are entirely dependent on our justice system for protection.

And yet, we felt we had to fight the Summit County Attorney every step of the way in pursuing justice for our babies. The Sheriff’s Department did a remarkable job of investigating the case and collecting evidence. Nevertheless, the County Attorney’s Office took more than four months to charge our childcare provider with abuse during part of which time she continued to work with children. Throughout the year that followed, we felt the County Attorney’s Office preferred that our strong yet circumstantial, high profile case just disappear.

At the end of the day, "due process" should and does protect defendants, but victims in Summit County also need a strong voice and that is why we believe Judge Hilder is the best choice for Summit County Attorney. We know he will uphold the Utah Victim’s Rights Amendment, which states that all victims of crime have the right "to be treated with fairness, respect, and dignity." Judge Hilder’s character is defined by integrity and we know he will treat everyone with the fairness that has been the hallmark of his career.

Please support our campaign for victims’ rights by voting for Judge Hilder.

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