Mitchell McKee, 61, pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual activity with a minor in Provo’s 4th District Court Sept. 28.
McKee formerly worked as an administrative director in the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office.
He was arrested in March 2024 and charged with 10 felony counts for alleged human trafficking of a child, forcible sodomy, forcible sexual abuse, sexual exploitation of a minor, enticement of a minor and dealing in material harmful to a minor.
Under McKee’s plea agreement with the Utah Attorney General’s Office, he has admitted to a single third-degree felony count of unlawful sexual activity. The other charges are dismissed.
The crime carries a punishment of up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. McKee must also register as a sex offender.
The victim, now an adult, told the court Sept. 22 he disagrees with the plea deal.
“Please let Your Honor know this deal is not OK,” the victim wrote in a statement read aloud by a relative. “This is a violation of more than just myself. It’s a violation of justice and of [morality] and ethics…. It’s a letdown in my comfort of both the sheriff’s office and the justice system.”
The relative said the family’s best interests haven’t adequately represented by new prosecutors assigned to the case.
But prosecutor Kristin Zimmerman said she doesn’t think going to trial is the best choice partly because she has access to new evidence previous prosecutors did not.
“Victims’ representatives and I have met,” she said Sept. 22. “This resolution is in the interest of justice due to evidentiary issues that I discussed with the family.”
The trial had been set for late October after a more than eight-month delay.
At the Sept. 28 hearing, Judge Anthony Howell asked Zimmerman to explain more about why prosecutors no longer believe they can prove the original charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
She was also concerned about putting McKee’s victim on the stand to be publicly subjected to cross-examination at trial.
The judge acknowledged victims have rights in the justice system, but he said prosecutors have the duty to pursue cases they believe will result in a conviction.
“I'm not allowed to prosecute from up here at the bench, and there's a separation of powers problem when the court imposes its opinion about a case when the court doesn't have the same kind of information as the state,” Howell said.
The judge decided to accept McKee’s guilty plea to the reduced felony charge and to revoke McKee’s bail.
He will remain in custody until sentencing, scheduled for Nov. 10 at 1:30 p.m.
KPCW’s Grace Doerfler contributed to this report.
