PROVO — A former American Fork elementary school teacher accused of molesting dozens of students and family members over a 20-year period has been ordered to undergo a second psychological evaluation before being sentenced.
Brent Whitlock, 45, appeared Monday with an entourage of family members in Provo's 4th District Court for sentencing on two counts of child sex abuse, a second-degree felony.
Whitlock, who worked 20 years as a physical education and music teacher at Shelly Elementary School in American Fork, appeared visibly shaken at the prospect of spending up to 15 years in prison on the two counts to which he recently plead guilty.
But both the prosecution and the defense asked that sentencing be postponed.
Utah County prosecutor Sherry Ragan said Whitlock needed to undergo a second psychological evaluation because the psychiatrist that performed the first evaluation was hired by Whitlock's family.
"We have some concerns about some things, the state wants more information" before sentencing, Ragan said.
Fourth District Court Judge Lynn Davis granted the request and ordered Whitlock to be taken into custody to spend 90 days at the Utah State Prison for the new evaluation.
When the former teacher comes back for sentencing Sept. 17, state officials will recommend he be sent to prison, Ragan said.
"This is mainly based on the number of victims and the number of years," Ragan said.
American Fork Police Chief Terry Fox said the case came to light after two young men told a church leader of the alleged abuse.
Fox said police have identified about 20 victims, ranging in age from 11 to 15 years old at the time they were abused.
Fox also said Whitlock allegedly abused boys over two decades. Many of the victims were students at Shelly Elementary, others were children Whitlock coached during little league baseball and some were family members, Fox said.
Prosecutors have said only two charges were filed because the four-year statute of limitations had run out on many of the incidents that allegedly involved as many as 20 children.
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