Cuong Manh Tran, who is charged with three counts of second-degree felony child sex abuse, will undergo a psychosexual evaluation before being sentenced by 3rd District Judge Timothy Hanson.
David Biggs, Tran's attorney, told the judge Friday that the evaluation was needed to help Adult Probation and Parole prepare a presentence report for his client. Biggs said previous evaluators disagreed, with one saying Tran could be treated at the Utah State Hospital or in prison, while another said Tran could be treated in a different facility.
Tran originally was charged in eight incidents in 2000 involving 10 girls between the ages of 3 and 9. However, the charges were reduced to three counts of child sex abuse as part of a plea agreement.
Tran, a transient, variously coaxed some of the girls to apartment stairways or empty apartments where, according to court documents, he touched and kissed them in inappropriate places on their bodies. In situations with three girls, the children's mothers noticed Tran and made him leave before anything of a sexual nature could happen, according to documents filed in 3rd District Court.
West Valley police investigated and arrested Tran, who was charged Oct. 31, 2000.
Biggs said the psychosexual evaluation could help determine whether Tran could be treated in another placement center outside the prison or state hospital.
Tran is being held at the state hospital. The judge set Oct. 10 for Tran's next court date.