Logan man sentenced to 1 to 15 years in prison for child sexual abuse

By Brad Plothow

April 20, 2006 | A Logan man could spend as many as 15 years in a state prison for a crime he's accused of committing more than 15 years ago.

Dwight Cahoon, 48, on Monday was sentenced on two counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a child. His term is for not less than one year and to up to 15 years in a Utah prison.

Cahoon was charged late last year on 10 counts related to the sexual abuse a young girl from 1989-1992. Cahoon was tried on only three counts. The victim, a woman now in her late 20s, didn't speak to police about the incident until 2004, when the case was filed. Police documents do not indicate why the woman waited so long to make the accusation.

A police report revealed that Cahoon admitted to sexually touching the woman when she was younger. Cahoon pleaded innocent to the 10 counts of second-degree felony sexual abuse of a child when the charges were originally levied, but in January this year he changed his plea to guilty on two counts. Cahoon and his defense attorney, John Caine, argued that the statue of limitations had passed, since the charges were made so many years after the alleged abuse.

First District Court Judge Clint Judkins denied the motion. Cahoon and Caine will likely appeal Monday's ruling, again on the basis of the statute of limitations.

Cahoon was not detained by police after his sentencing Monday. The court determined he posed no flight risk or threat to the community, so he was released on his own recognizance.

According to his 1st District Court file, Cahoon has court fines totaling $37,500 plus interest. Cahoon made bail when the charges were filed in 2004 on a $150,000 property bond.

Cahoon currently is not listed in Utah's sex offender registry. Two men by the same last name are listed on the registry. Brian Earl Cahoon, 31, of Draper was convicted of second-degree sexual abuse of a child in September of last year. Troy Gary Cahoon, 36, whose address is listed as the same as Brian Earl Cahoon's, was convicted on one count of unlawful sexual activity with a minor, a third-degree felony, in 2003 and attempted sexual abuse of a child, also a third-degree felony, in 1992.

Caine is a high-profile criminal defense attorney in Utah. He helped represent Mark Hacking, who was charged with the murder of his wife, Lori, in a case that received national media attention last year.

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