Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Scott Dale Owen was sentenced to 15 years in prison after admitting to sexual abuse during therapy sessions with clients.
- Owen pleaded guilty to three counts of forcible sodomy related to two men, and no contest to sexually abusing a teenage girl.
PROVO — A former Provo counselor who specialized in counseling gay men will spend at least 15 years and up to life in prison after admitting to nonconsensual sexual conduct during therapy, instructing the men that it was part of their treatment process.
Scott Dale Owen, 66, of Spanish Fork, was sentenced to three terms of five years to life in the Utah State Prison for three convictions of forcible sodomy, a first-degree felony. Fourth District Judge Kraig Powell ordered the sentences to run consecutive.
He pleaded guilty to the charges on Feb. 10 under a plea deal that dismissed one additional charge of forcible sodomy and six charges of object rape, first-degree felonies.
Owen practiced at the Canyon Counseling Center in Provo and detectives interviewed at least a dozen clients who sought treatment related to same-sex attraction and were sexually abused. The charges, however, specifically related to two men for crimes committed in 2010 and 2017.
One of the men said he began treatment in 2016 and Owen determined he needed to work on intimacy and became "increasingly physical" each session, according to charging documents. The charges said Owen would assure the man he was making progress, even if others wouldn't understand the treatment.
A second man sought treatment from Owen in 2010 and Owen told the man he was spiritually prompted to work with him and that they would focus on an intimate and spiritual relationship, charging documents say.
During treatment, Owen was also an ecclesiastical leader for both men — he told one man their actions were in line with religious standards and the other that God had given them permission to do things that would typically be wrong, court documents state.
As part of a plea deal, Owen entered a no contest plea to attempted aggravated sexual abuse of a minor, a first-degree felony, which was reduced from aggravated sexual abuse of a child as part of a plea deal.
In that case, charges allege that a 13-year-old girl was receiving therapy from Owen in 2007 to deal with the death of a parent, and he had her sit on his lap so "religious authority" would pass into her and help her not feel sad. The charges said he then rubbed her body and placed his hand and arm over her breasts.
The sentence in that case, three years to life in prison, was ordered to run concurrent with the sentences in Owen's other case.
Owen was asked to surrender himself to the police department in November 2023 but did not show up and was later taken into custody after a four-hour standoff on U.S. 89 near Thistle after police found him in a car with a gun.
