PROVO — A woman charged in 4th District Court with severe sexual and physical abuse of her two sons changed her mind — twice — on Monday.
In a Provo courtroom, Shelly Huynh decided to enter a guilty plea instead of going forward with a jury trial. Then, she suddenly changed her mind, reversed her guilty plea and said she wanted to prove her innocence at a trial.
And that's when Huynh's attorney — who was caught by surprise when Huynh did a flip-flop on her decision to enter a guilty plea — asked the judge to remove him from the case.
John Green told Judge Claudia Laycock he and Huynh had differences of opinion on how the case should be resolved. Huynh stands charged with multiple felony counts of child abuse and child sex abuse.
"After talking to the prosecutor last week, I did go to the prison and have a sit-down discussion with my client and did think we had a deal," said Green, who was allowed by Laycock to withdraw from the case.
After the hearing, Green would not elaborate on his request to step down as Huynh's legal counsel.
Huynh's four-day jury trial was scheduled to start Monday but it had been canceled because Huynh had agreed to negotiate a plea deal.
Then on Monday, Green said Huynh was not ready to plead, because she had problems with specific charges against her.
"It's frustrating that we thought she was going to enter a plea and that the trial was delayed again," said Deputy Utah County Attorney Mariane O'Bryant.
Laycock appointed the Utah County Public Defender's Office to represent Huynh, who said she has no money left to pay a private attorney. She asked the court to appoint an attorney to represent her. That attorney will be paid with taxpayer dollars.
A June 3 hearing was set to give a new attorney time to come on to the case. A new trial has not yet been scheduled.
O'Bryant said the Utah County Attorney's Office has been ready to present evidence against Huynh and witnesses are prepared to take the stand at any time.
"It's been quite awhile since (Huynh's children) lived at home," she said of the alleged victims in the case. "On the other hand, it's not the kind of thing you forget easily."
Huynh also said on Monday that she would like to have a change of venue for her trial because stories about the charges against her have appeared in the media.
"I truly believe with this case,"she said, "I've been convicted in the media before I've even gone to trial."
Laycock said Huynh should discuss the matter with her new attorney.
Huynh and ex-husband Chay Huynh were both accused of using dental floss to yank healthy teeth from their boys and locking them in the basement without food or water as forms of punishment.
One boy testified at a preliminary hearing that his mother forced him to breast-feed on several occasions when he was 10.
Chay Huynh pleaded guilty on Feb. 10 to reduced charges fro misdemeanor child abuse. He received credit for time served in Utah County Jail during court proceedings and was released that evening.
E-mail: shelps@desnews.com