SEXUAL ABUSER GETS SUSPENDED SENTENCE

A 65-year-old Provo man received a suspended prison term of one to 15 years on Friday and was fined $1,250 following a guilty plea of sexually abusing two girls, ages 8 and 11.

Fourth District Judge George E. Ballif placed Vern Sanford on probation and ordered him to serve 90 days in jail with time off for therapy, as requested by public defender Michael Esplin. In addition, Ballif fined the defendant $1,000, including another $250 to be paid to the Victim's Reparation Fund, and ordered him to stay away from children unless accompanied by another adult.Sanford originally was charged with three counts of rape of a child, first-degree felonies, and one count of child sexual abuse, a second-degree felony. In a plea agreement with prosectors, Sanford agreed to plead guilty to sexual abuse in exchange for dropping of the other three charges.

The charges stem from allegations that Sanford raped and sexually abused two neighbor girls. He was arrested last Aug. 29.