PROVO -- A Springville man in prison for child sexual abuse has asked a judge to put on hold a civil lawsuit filed by his victims.
Arvid Oakley, 55, was sentenced in December to serve five years to life for aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony. Earlier this year, a Springville couple who said three of their children were among Oakley's victims filed a personal injury lawsuit seeking an unspecified amount of money from Oakley.In a handwritten letter sent from the Central Utah Correctional Facility in Gunnison, Oakley asked a 4th District judge to delay the civil suit while he appeals his criminal conviction. In February, Oakley appealed his case to the Utah Supreme Court, which later sent it to the Utah Court of Appeals.
During a trial last year, a 6-year-old Springville girl testified that when she was 4, Oakley fondled her while giving her a bath at his home. Prosecutors charged that Oakley ran a free day care called Superkids of America to lure children into his home so he could victimize them.
Although Oakley was convicted on just one count, the Springville family's lawsuit alleges that several other children were abused by Oakley. Prosecutors said they had evidence that Oakley abused other children, although some of them weren't willing to testify in court.
In his letter, Oakley said that he used all his money and sold his possessions to pay his attorneys, and that the victims' families had nothing to gain from suing him. As he did throughout the trial, Oakley denied that he sexually abused children. He called his accusers irrational.
"I can only pity them and those who conspire with them for bringing condemnation unto themselves," Oakley wrote.
The family's lawsuit said their children were abused by Oakley during four years, causing "permanent, painful and ongoing emotional trauma." Oakley should be required to compensate his victims for therapy and treatment costs, the suit says.
But Oakley said he expects a retrial of his case, and he said he doesn't want a civil verdict to prejudice a potential jury.
"If I win my appeal, (the civil suit's) charges won't carry much weight," Oakley wrote. "If I lose my appeal, I expect to spend the rest of my life here in prison and eventually die here."
Oakley's letter was a mixture of accusations, scriptures and philosophy. At one court hearing last year, Oakley told the victims' families that he might be condemned but so would they for what he said were lies. In his letter, he accused the family filing the lawsuit of being overly vengeful, and he claimed to be at peace with himself.
"In the words of an ancient Greek philosopher, 'I hope for nothing, I fear nothing. I am free,' " Oakley wrote, signing the letter "Inmate No. 28388."