FARMINGTON (AP) -- A licensed social worker who was employed by the LDS Church has admitted to sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl.
David Novak, 48, of West Bountiful, pleaded guilty to second-degree felony sexual abuse of a child in 2nd District Court Tuesday.In exchange for his plea, deputy Davis County attorney Bill McGuire dropped a pair of first-degree felony charges of aggravated sexual abuse of a child.
The plea agreement will keep Novak out of prison, even though the recommended sentence on the second-degree felony charge is one to 15 years in prison. Second District Judge Jon Memmott could sentence Novak to a year in the Davis County Jail.
Novak's attorney, Ken Brown, said he will argue for three years of probation at a Feb. 1 sentencing. McGuire said he will not recommend jail time. "It's adequate because of the facts of the case," McGuire said.
Novak was accused of exposing himself repeatedly to the 13-year-old girl and touching her breasts.
In court, Novak admitted through his lawyer to having taken "indecent liberties" with the girl during 1994 and 1995, when he was employed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a counselor for sexually abused children.
Novak's victim was not a patient of LDS Social Services, the agency that employed him. Novak quit the job in December 1998 when the allegations surfaced.
Novak is still licensed by the Utah Department of Occupational and Professional Licensing as a clinical social worker, said agency spokesman Kim Morris.
Morris said he could not say whether Novak was under investigation. He did say that a felony guilty plea would not automatically take away Novak's license.
"This is an entirely different legal process," Morris said.
Tuesday's court proceedings did not indicate whether Novak is employed or still working as a counselor.