The two men accused of drilling a hole in a woman's head as part of a bizarre new-age procedure will not go to jail for performing the surgery.
Trial for Peter Evan Halvorson, 54, and William Eugene Lyons, 56, was scheduled to begin Monday morning in 5th District Court in Parowan. However, both men instead pleaded guilty as charged to practicing medicine without a license, a third-degree felony.
Iron County Attorney Scott Burns and defense attorneys reached an agreement that spared the pair from doing time behind bars.
Halvorson and Lyons on Monday were each sentenced to 36 months court-supervised probation, fined $500 and ordered to undergo a mental-health evaluation. Furthermore, the men cannot participate in or encourage other such procedures in the United States.
Each man faced a possible five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
The pair were charged after reports of the "trephination" were aired on the television news magazine "20/20" on Feb. 10, 2000. ABC News reporter Chris Cuomo and a camera operator were present when Halvorson and Lyons performed the procedure on 30-year-old Heather Evelyn Perry last January. The procedure was performed at a home in Beryl, about 30 miles west of Cedar City.
According to court documents, Perry injected herself with a local anesthetic in a shaved four-inch square area on the top of her head. With Halvorson holding a mirror, she used a scalpel to make an incision in the same area of her scalp. Halvorson then used an instrument described as a "spreader" to expose Perry's skull as Lyons used a metal instrument to drill a hole in the top of Perry's skull, documents state.
Perry reportedly traveled to the United States from England for the procedure at Halvorson's request.
Proponents of alternative medicine believe trephination promotes healing and increases blood flow, thereby restoring mental capacity and youth.
Burns sought unedited footage of the procedure and subpoenaed Cuomo to testify at the man's trial. ABC News appealed the order, which 5th District Judge J. Philip Eves upheld. The order was also upheld last week by New York's appellate court, which Burns considers key in reaching this agreement.
"They were banking on the fact that I would not have a crucial witness here," Burns said. "But this was all on videotape. It was clearly a surgical procedure, and I think they saw the writing on the wall."
Defense attorneys for the two men did not return calls for comment.
Burns said trephination is increasing in popularity across the United States and is also popular worldwide. He has received telephone calls from "pretty distraught parents" asking him to follow through with the case and inform people of the dangers.
"Hopefully the message will go out that this is something that is not acceptable in Utah, and not in America," Burns said.
As for Perry, Burns said the woman has returned to England. She has suffered side effects from the surgery, he said, including the leakage of brain fluid.
E-MAIL: awelling@desnews.com