Man Sentenced To Up to Life For Molestation
Saturday, January 12, 2002

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BY STEPHEN HUNT

 James E. Demos, right, appears before 
3rd District Judge Timothy Hanson 
with his attorney Mike Stapleton, left. 

Four girls -- ages 7 through 13 -- stood up in court Friday and asked a judge to punish their grandfather, a man who had sexually abused them for years.
"I hope he's in prison, because I don't want him hurting other little kids," said a 13-year-old grand- daughter.
James E. Denos -- a white-haired 73-year-old -- asked for probation, rather than prison, citing a lifetime of good works as a junior high school teacher and a bishop in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
But 3rd District Judge Timothy Hanson sent Denos to prison for up to life, stating: "You're only as good as your last act, and your last act was stealing the innocence from these young girls.
"They looked up to you for guidance and counsel, and you sexually abused them. That's what they got for their trust. It makes me sick!"
Denos -- who abused the girls both in Utah and in his home state of California -- pleaded guilty in October to four counts of first-degree felony aggravated sexual abuse of a child.
The counts carry prison terms of 5 years to life, which Hanson ordered run consecutively.
"These kinds of despicable crimes call for a serious punishment," the judge said.
California defense attorney Mike Stapleton complained that the 20-year minimum prison term would be a death sentence for Denos. "This defendant will never see daylight," Stapleton said.
Indeed, the defendant's daughter, Beverly Miner, said the hearing was "a lot like a funeral."
"It's very hard to lose a dad," added the defendant's son, Ray Denos, with a sob.
"I was the only son. I idolized him. Now it's crushed . . . it's gone. But what's most important, he is off the streets and will not be not able to hurt anyone else."
The Salt Lake Tribune usually does not identify sexual abuse victims or their specific relationship to defendants. But in Denos' case, adult family members encouraged news coverage and wanted their names published to draw attention to what they called a "terrible societal problem."
The defendant has one son, three daughters and 25 grandchildren, but family members said they do not plan to see him again unless they attend a parole hearing to protest his release.
The family has identified 17 alleged victims -- relatives and neighbors -- since July, when one of the granddaughters came forward.
"The Pandora's box keeps opening," said Ray Denos, who claims his father molested his first known victim 50 years ago.
Denos told the judge he loved his family and was sorry.
Charging documents allege the four girls were molested when their grandfather visited Utah between January 1998 and January 2000.
The abuse occurred during car rides, while playing computer games and while watching television.
The girls also claim they were molested when they visited their grandfather, who lived in Huntington Beach. "Disneyland is not the happy place, anymore," said Ray Denos.
Assistant Utah Attorney General Jason Perry said Denos was charged only with abuse that occurred in Utah, but he said he forwarded information about the California allegations to authorities there.
Denos' daughter said she now understands her father lived a double life.
"In public, my father was always so perfect, and he told us he was perfect," Miner said. "He went to church every Sunday, we had family home evening and we read the Scriptures. People put him on a pedestal.
"But he was molesting children . . . right under our noses."