Aaron Marcos Montoya

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1. LDS Primary teacher accused of fondling young girls
   view source details | 23 Dec 2004 | Salt Lake Tribune
2. LDS teacher faces charge of sex abuse
   view source details | 23 Dec 2004 | Deseret News
3. Montoya Sentenced; Victim Parents Criticize Judge
   view source details | 21 Oct 2005 | KSL

Source details

• LDS Primary teacher accused of fondling young girls
  Publisher: Salt Lake Tribune
  Date: 23 Dec 2004
  Archive.org
  Source type: News article

  This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2004, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

  A gospel teacher at a Mormon ward in Syracuse allegedly fondled four young girls, some of them while they were praying or coloring religious pictures in his class.

  Aaron Marcos Montoya, 32, of Syracuse, is charged in Farmington's 2nd District Court with five counts of aggravated sexual abuse, a first-degree felony punishable by up to life in prison.

  On Wednesday, Montoya, who was booked into the Davis County Jail on Tuesday, appeared in Farmington's 2nd District Court, where bail was set at $100,000.

  Montoya works as a bailiff at the Scott M. Matheson Courthouse in Salt Lake City. The Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office, which provides security to the building, has placed Montoya on paid administrative leave.

  A week ago, one of the girls reported the alleged fondling to her parents, who contacted police, said Syracuse Police Sgt. Mark Sessions. Investigators located two other girls with similar accusations the next day.

  Police arrested Montoya late Tuesday night, waiting for him to return from a trip to the East Coast, Sessions said. Just hours after his arrest, police identified a fourth potential victim, who claimed Montoya stuck his hand up her skirt at his home while the girl was playing with Montoya's children. The other four incidents allegedly took place inside a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meeting house in Syracuse in the past month. One of the girls told police she was abused twice.

  Two of the alleged victims were 5 years old and two were 6, according to the charges.

  In most of the incidents, Montoya allegedly sat behind the girls in Primary class and reached his hand up their skirts. Two of the girls said this happened while they were praying, according to the charges. Montoya had been teaching the class for the past year, Sessions said.

  During the short court hearing Wednesday, Montoya said he would be hiring his own attorney. His next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 5.

  The Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office learned of the allegations late Tuesday and immediately placed Montoya on leave, said Sgt. Rosie Rivera. Montoya has worked for the Sheriff's Office since 1995.

  Rivera said an internal investigation will be conducted after his court case is resolved.

  "We will deal with it on our side, but we don't want to interfere with the criminal investigation at all," she said.

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  LDS teacher faces charge of sex abuse
  Publisher: Deseret News
  Date: 23 Dec 2004
  Archive.org
  Source type: News article

  SYRACUSE — An LDS Primary teacher was accused of molesting young girls in his class during church and at his home.

  Aaron Marcos Montoya, 32, who is also a Salt Lake County sheriff's officer, was charged with five counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child in 2nd District Court. The charges included the aggravated enhancement because Montoya was in a position of trust in his church duties.

  Two of the victims were allegedly molested at a ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints near 4500 West and 1700 South in Syracuse on Dec. 12. The attacks allegedly occurred in Montoya's Primary classroom while other students were present, Syracuse police Sgt. Mark Sessions said.

  Two victims were allegedly attacked in Montoya's house near 1300 South and 3900 West over the past month, Sessions said. The young girls were at the house visiting Montoya's children, he said.

  All of the victims were girls either 5 or 6 years old, Sessions said.

  Church spokesman Dale Bills said the allegations are of the utmost concern.

  "The church expects the highest moral and ethical standards of its members," he said. "Local church leaders stand ready to cooperate with official investigators as requested."

  Professional counseling was being provided by the church to the victims and their families, Bills said.

  Montoya made a brief initial appearance in court Wednesday. Bail was set at $100,000. His next court appearance was scheduled for Jan. 5.

  Police were notified of the alleged incident on Dec. 16 after one of the other Primary children told her parents what had happened, Sessions said. Montoya was arrested at his house Tuesday night.

  Sessions described Montoya's neighborhood as being "outraged" over the incident.

  Neighbors around 1300 South and 3900 West said it is usually a quiet neighborhood where everyone knows each other. All of the residents the Deseret Morning News talked to Wednesday asked that their names not be used but said they were "shocked" by the arrest.

  One man said the feeling in the neighborhood has fluctuated between rage and extreme sadness.

  Another neighbor said she was "sick" about the situation. "It's just wrong," she said. "Like one neighbor said, 'Who do you trust?' But you can't live in fear."

  Most neighbors agreed that Montoya is a "nice guy" and described his family as being "very religious." All the more reason why residents said they were stunned by the arrest.

  Montoya's house was vacant Wednesday. His wife and three children were reportedly visiting relatives in Georgia.

  He was placed on administrative leave from the sheriff's office Tuesday night pending the outcome of the investigation, said Salt Lake County Sheriff's Sgt. Rosie Rivera.

  Montoya was hired by the sheriff's office in 1995. He works security at the Matheson Courthouse.

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  Montoya Sentenced; Victim Parents Criticize Judge
  Publisher: KSL
  Date: 21 Oct 2005
  Archive.org
  Source type: News article

  FARMINGTON, Utah (AP) -- A Syracuse man has been received a five years to life sentence for aggravated sexual abuse of a child that is to run consecutively to four similar sentences previously handed down for his inappropriately touching young girls in his Mormon Primary class.

  Aaron Marcos Montoya, 33, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of aggravated sexual abuse of a child that encompassed six victims over a five-year period. The previous case involved three girls abused last year in his Syracuse Primary class for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2004.

  Prosecutors agreed to dismiss two charges Montoya faced in Weber County and five of six charges in Davis County in exchange for the guilty plea.

  During the hearing, three fathers and one mother of abuse victims spoke directly to Judge Thomas L. Kay, chastising him for his remarks to parents during Montoya's Sept. 26 sentencing hearing when the judge suggested they not treat their daughters like victims.

  "We never once had that desire," one father said.

  Montoya was sentenced to four concurrent terms of five years to life in the first case. The sentenced handed down on Thursday was to be consecutive to the other four, but the actual time served is up to the pardons board.

  Montoya's plea on Thursday involved incidents with six girls ranging in age from 3 to 11 that happened at his home, in his car and at Pineview Reservoir between the summer of 2000 and 2004.

  Before Kay sentenced Montoya, 33, of Syracuse, he said being a judge does not mean "putting your finger in the air and see which way the voting public is going. If you do that, you're not a judge, but a legislator."

  Two of the victims, now in their teens, also spoke at the hearing.

  "(Montoya) is a big creep for not admitting it. I hope you go to jail for a long time. I feel so bad for all those poor little girls," one said while fighting back tears.

  The other teenage girl, also fighting tears, said she now wishes she had spoken up sooner so maybe Montoya would not have molested other girls.

  Both girls said they have a difficult time being around men because of what Montoya did to them.

  In her statement, the mother of one of the teens told Kay, "You added to that pain" by not sentencing Montoya to consecutive sentences in September.

  "You gave Aaron the lightest possible sentence. I find that reprehensible," she said, standing near her daughter.

  Kay said the reason he is recommending the latest sentence to run after the other four is because the incidents happened to multiple girls, in different places and over a long period, while the four other incidents happened at the same location during a short period.

  Deputy Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings said all six remaining victims are accounted for by Montoya's plea. The current plea and Thursday's sentencing cannot be appealed, Rawlings said.

  Rawlings said Kay did everything right concerning the August trial, even though he did not agree with some of Kay's decisions. Because of Kay's decisions, Montoya has little chance of winning an appeal if he appeals the jury verdict, Rawlings said.