Highland man sentenced to seven months in prison after sexually abusing his daughter and seven-year-old granddaughter

Steven Hart, 62, of Highland, was sentenced to seven months in the Utah County Jail on Wednesday, August 28. The case that lasted nearly nine years is finally over.

Hart was arrested on October 8, 2015. He was charged with sodomy of a child, aggravated sexual abuse of a child by a person of trust, and four counts of lewdness with a child.

According to court documents, on September 15, 2015, the first victim, a 7-year-old girl (Hart's granddaughter), was talking to her mother about “secrets.” The victim told her mother that she had a “secret with Grandpa.” When the mother asked about the secret, the victim said, “I don't want to tell you. Grandpa said it had to be a secret because otherwise Mommy would get mad.”

The next day, September 16, 2015, Victim 1 was taken to the Children's Justice Center for questioning. During questioning, Victim 1 said Hart exposed himself in front of her and performed sexual acts, which the girl described in detail. The victim continued, telling another story about an explicit sex act being performed on her. She also told authorities Hart put his hands down her pants and underwear.

Victim One also disclosed during her interview that her aunt, the second victim, witnessed one of the abuse incidents, which led to an interview with the second victim.

According to court documents, “The second victim was interviewed on September 21, 2015. Victim Two denied ever witnessing Victim One's abuse, but told authorities that Hart performed sexual acts in front of her on at least three occasions. Victim Two also stated that she was in therapy after suffering from night terrors for several years following the abuse.”

Hart's wife, the mother of the second victim, told authorities they were afraid Hart would stop at nothing to kill her after speaking with police. Hart owned three firearms at the time.

Hart was arrested in 2015 but paid $100,000 bail and was released.

The criminal case against Hart lasted nine years and ended Wednesday when Judge Roger Griffin in American Fork District Court sentenced Hart to seven months in prison for each count of sexual abuse of a child.

Judge Griffin allowed the two sentences to be served concurrently, making a total of seven months, without any time already served being counted towards the sentence.

In addition to his prison sentence, Hart must serve 60 months of probation upon his release, register as a sex offender, and pay fines and restitution totaling just over $3,000.