Utah man ordered to jail after assaulting son for refusing to go on mission

OGDEN, Utah (KSL.com) — A Clearfield man was ordered Friday to serve jail time for assaulting his son during an argument that started when the son said he did not want to go on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Scott Keith Warner, 51, was convicted by a 2nd District Court judge on Sept. 8 of aggravated assault and domestic violence in the presence of a child, third-degree felonies, according to court records.

Second District Court Judge Cristina Ortega sentenced Warner to a suspended prison term. He did not specify how long the suspended prison term was, but a conviction on a third-degree felony is punishable by up to five years in the Utah State Prison.

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Ortega then ordered Warner to serve 240 days in jail, the first 90 of which will be in custody, prosecutor Matt Wilson told KSL.com. After that, he can participate in the day reporting program, along with “other standard conditions of probation.”

“My office is pleased with the result,” Wilson said.

Court records show that Warner has also twice violated a protective order filed for a family member who is not Warner’s son. He has pleaded not guilty to two charges of violating a protective order, both class A misdemeanors.

On Aug. 21, 2020, police were called to Warner’s residence on a report of a fight between Warner and his 18-year-old son. Warner told police “that he had attempted to remove his son from the home after his son stated he did not wish to go on his LDS Church mission,” according to charging documents.

The son told police that he and his father were arguing and after he told him he was not going on a mission, his father “grabbed him by the arm during this argument and the two began to physically fight. The victim reported that during this fight, he was knocked to the ground and Scott began to strike the victim’s head into the wall repeatedly as well as squeeze the victim’s neck with both hands,” the charges state.

Police say multiple scratches were visible on the son’s neck, and he was shaking while speaking to officers and was hesitant to provide details about what happened.

In April, Warner and his attorneys filed a motion to have his case dismissed, arguing that Warner acted in self-defense and that it was the son who attacked him first.

Warner was found guilty of his charges during a bench trial on Sept. 8.