was a Mormon church member and schoolteacher in Utah; honored as teacher of the year twice at local schools; sentenced to prison in 2007 for sexually molesting a child who was one of his students; accused of sexually abusing many other little children in his classes

Case report

Alan Willey was a Mormon church member and school teacher in Utah for nearly 30 years, from the late 1970s to the mid-2000s.

For a time, Willey taught at East Elementary School in St. George.

Willey was arrested in 2006 by Logan City Police on nine counts of aggravated forcible sex abuse of a child. He was booked into the Cache County Jail following allegations brought by a former student and corroborated by fellow students from a 1994 Wilson Elementary fourth-grade class.

He posted his $180,000 bail that same night.

He pleaded not guilty on all counts, and the trial went to jury.

He was sentenced to prison in 2007 for seven felony counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a child.

In 2011, Willey filed a lawsuit against the State of Utah in an attempt to reverse his conviction, arguing that his defense attorneys failed to call an expert witness on human memory to the stand.

The Utah Court of Appeals in 2011 issued its memorandum decision, saying Willey’s appellate argument amounted to nothing more than a “rehashing” of evidence presented in district court. They said the defendant failed to challenge the factual findings in the case and show that his attorneys’ decision to exclude the memory expert was not a good trial strategy.

Willey never married. All of his confirmed and alleged victims were young boys.

As of 2023, Willey lives in Sandy, Utah in a house he bought in 2016.

Case facts

Case photos

Case information sources

  1. Logan Teacher Faced Accusations in the Past
    view source details | 29 Mar 2006 | KSL

Case information source details

  • Logan Teacher Faced Accusations in the Past
    Publisher: KSL
    Date: 29 Mar 2006
    Archive.org
    Source type: News article

    We've learned the Logan teacher who faces sexual abuse charges has faced similar accusations in another school district.

    Yesterday, we told you about Alan Willey, a teacher at Logan's Wilson Elementary school, who was charged with sexually abusing a boy there 12 years ago.

    Logan Police told us more people claiming to be victims of Mr. Willey have called them today, but at this point, no other charges have been filed.

    Even though the alleged abuse took place more than 10 years ago, experts in this field say waiting that long isn't uncommon.

    Rick Rawlins is a case worker with Valley Mental Health, helping people who have been sexually abused.

    Rick Rawlins, Valley Mental Health: "It's not just something that magically goes away."

    He's not working the case involving Logan school teacher Alan Willey, but he's seen how victims, especially children, don't come forward right away.

    Rick Rawlins, Valley Mental Health: "It's very common for people not to disclose sexual abuse for months or years."

    It took 10 years for a former student of Mr. Willey's to come forward. But finally, that student felt it was time.

    Rick Rawlins, Valley Mental Health: "I kind of think of it as the dirty room. They can shut the door and act like everything inside is clean, and everybody can walk by and you can act like it, but inside, it's still a mess and they know it."

    And even though many parents are defending him...

    "I stand by Mr. Willey."

    He's been in trouble like this before.

    Logan Teacher Faced Accusations in the Past

    Prior to Logan, Willey taught at East Elementary School in St. George. In 1992, a parent filed a complaint against him in an incident with her son four years before, but it was dismissed in a letter saying:

    ...as a result of investigations by the Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission into accusations against you, we do not find enough evidence to proceed with commission action on your certification.

    Logan Teacher Faced Accusations in the Past

    Sixteen years later, he's facing the same kind of trouble. Rawlins just hopes if there are more victims, they come forward.

    Rick Rawlins, Valley Mental Health: "They need to get healing. They need to be able to know they don't have to go through it alone."

    Disciplinary files on Willey from his time at the St. George school don't exist anymore, and his police records in St. George on the alleged incident there have been expunged.

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