'I couldn't imagine doing that to my child,' woman says of father sent to prison

SALT LAKE CITY — Just before Robert Quentin Sprague was sentenced, his adult daughter, in a statement read by a victim advocate, told the court that her father is dead to her.

"This was just the cherry on top of the sundae. We've always had issues," the daughter told KSL about her statement and her father's latest conviction. "He's very narcissistic, so the world revolved around him. And that was very apparent from a young age, and that got worse as we all progressively got older."

Now, the daughter hopes she can raise awareness of what she believes is an underreported issue: non-spousal or intimate partner domestic violence.

KSL is not naming the daughter to protect her identity.

Sprague, 65, was accused of falsely claiming that his wife was plotting to kill him. After his initial arrest and after he was released from jail, he violated the protective order against him just days later, broke into his estranged wife's home in southern Utah and was arrested again.

As part of a plea deal to resolve the two criminal cases, Sprague pleaded guilty on Sept. 2 to identity fraud, forgery and witness tampering. He was given a suspended sentence of two terms each of up to five years in prison and placed on three years of probation. He was then sentenced to a year in jail in the second case for violating a protective order. Sprague was originally arrested for investigation of criminal solicitation but was not charged.

Fifth District Judge Eric Gentry told Sprague that he was a liar and is manipulative, saying he thinks the apology he made in court is an act.

"You use people as objects, not as people. That's just your mindset," the judge said.

The sentence Gentry gave to Sprague included more jail time than either the prosecution or defense attorneys recommended.

Still, "it ended up being a little disappointing," the daughter, who had wanted consecutive prison sentences, told KSL. "I feel like it was a slap on the wrist. I feel like as soon as he gets out on probation, he'll be good for two or three months and then he's going to break it."

Sprague's wife, who is the daughter's stepmother, filed for divorce in August. Despite what Sprague was accused of doing, his estranged wife said she loves him and cares about his life and hopes he can get the help he needs. Sprague's daughter says her stepmother told her before the hearing that she was willing to offer forgiveness.

"I understand, and I get it," Sprague's daughter said. "She's only had a short time with him."

Before the sentencing, she said her stepmother told her that she also understood the daughter's point of view.

"'You've had a lifetime, an absolute lifetime,'" the daughter says her stepmother told her. "So I understand why she said it and why she does (forgive him), because she does recognize that there's something wrong with him. He is just out of control. But I can't fault her for it."

But Sprague's daughter says the problems with her father started when they lived in Las Vegas and came to a head in 2017 when he was incarcerated. Since then, she says she and her siblings have wanted nothing to do with Sprague.

When Sprague was originally arrested in May, the daughter told St. George police "that Robert has a history of lying and being deceitful to include making false allegations against her mother, Robert's ex-wife, in Las Vegas," a police booking affidavit states.

Police say Sprague then began calling his daughter's place of employment in Salt Lake City.

"(He) even attempted to call her supervisor," the affidavit states. "Robert also sent his ex-wife a text message (telling her) that he was filing a complaint with (his daughter's) employer because she had spoken (to police), insinuating that her job was in jeopardy for speaking with (police). This caused his daughter a great deal of stress, anxiety, and fear because Robert is so manipulative."

"I couldn't imagine doing that to my child and trying to ruin their career," the daughter told KSL. "He is the way he is because he's a narcissist; everybody will tell you that. He's textbook definition of it.

"I don't know what goes through his brain when all of this kind of stuff happens," the daughter continued. "I don't think he's told the truth in probably his whole life. And I don't know why. I don't understand the benefit of lying to your family, to your wife, to your kids. And then making those lies into his own reality to blow it up into what it was. .. He's not going to change. ... People like him don't change. It's just who they are. It's ingrained in them at this point."

Sprague apologized to the women in court, saying his wife did not deserve what he did and that he should have protected his daughter. He said he did not remember calling her the derogatory terms she said had harmed her.

"His apology to me was such bull," the daughter said. "(Saying) that I'm a blessing and that he will carry my burdens for the rest of his life, and I'm like, 'You haven't carried them in the 31 years that I've been on this planet; you're not going to start now.' But it's like, that's all you have to say about your daughter? Even though I disowned him, it was like an even deeper cut realizing that he wanted to fix and preserve his relationship with my stepmom more than he wanted to his own child.

"It's really hard sitting there, and even though I disowned him, the first thing that came out of his mouth when he got up to address the court was saying that my stepmom was the greatest gift God has ever given him. Not his children, but her. Which kind of cut deep. I was like, 'Ouch,'" the daughter continued. "It still hurts. It still hurts to hear your own father to say that and act like that. ... It's hard."

The daughter feels she was targeted by her father because she spoke out against him. But she also believes domestic violence between parents and adult children does not get reported enough to police.

"We shouldn't be so scared to report (parents). We should be aware that these things are happening," she said. "If you feel unsafe, report that. If you feel like you are being harassed, report that. If you, obviously, get hit, report that."

Even if someone isn't sure if an incident warrants police action, it "never hurts to ask. You don't know what you don't know," the daughter said. "Just because they are your parents doesn't mean they aren't going to hurt you."

She says her plan now is to move on and heal.

"I'm not going to let him hold me down for the rest of my life," she said. "I'm still young. I don't need to carry that trauma with me. But it is hard."

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