CEDAR CITY — A convicted sex offender who moved from Colorado to Cedar City last summer has been sentenced to prison for child sexual exploitation.
During his sentencing hearing on March 19, Patrick Aaron Merrifield, 39, was ordered by 5th District Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen to serve one to 15 years in prison, the statutory maximum for the charge.
As part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, Merrifield on Jan. 2 had pleaded guilty to a single count of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony. In exchange for his guilty plea, three counts of failure to register as a sex offender, each a third-degree felony, were dismissed.
Merrifield was arrested in Iron County on Oct. 25, 2023 after authorities at Wheat Ridge Police Department in Boulder, Colorado contacted Iron County Sheriff’s Office and told them that Merrifield had relocated without complying with sex offender registration requirements, which constituted a parole violation.
According to the probable cause statement filed in support of Merrifield’s arrest, law enforcement officers searched Merrifield’s residence and found electronic devices containing sexual images of children. Merrifield reportedly admitted to police he had viewed child pornography since he’d moved to Utah in August 2023.
During the sentencing hearing, Merrifield’s attorney, public defender Franklin Katschke, said, “I think it goes without saying that the crime Mr. Merrifield has pled guilty to is probably one of the more abhorrent crimes that comes through the court system.”
“Mr. Merrifield knows and understands that he has a problem that he’s been working on for most of his adult life,” Katschke added.
Katschke asked the judge to consider staying the prison term in favor of probation, which he said would offer his client a better chance for rehabilitative treatment.
“If you send him to prison, that’s not really going to solve any of the problems,” Katschke told the court. “(He) might do a couple of years, (he) might get out with little to no change in his addiction recovery.”
Merrifield himself also addressed the court prior to being sentenced, saying “I saw what I was doing and I knew what I was doing was wrong.”
Merrifield said he is committed to “keep working on myself so that I can become the man I’m supposed to be.”
“I want to show you that I can go very far despite my past,” he added. “I can do a lot of good in this world.”
However, Chief Deputy Iron County Attorney Shane Klenk argued in favor of prison time, highlighting the fact that Merrifield’s criminal history includes multiple previous charges for similar offenses in Colorado.
“The defendant’s track record reveals a pattern of non-compliance and disregard for law,” Klenk said.
“As a society, it is crucial that the response to this type of crime be heavy, swift and unequivocal,” Klenk added. “The maximum penalty is warranted and imprisonment is deserved.”
Judge Allen ultimately agreed with prosecutors’ recommendations, telling Merrifield at the conclusion of the hearing:
I believe that you can do well, I agree. But it is going to be after you pay the penalty for this very serious conduct. This court cannot in good conscience not impose the maximum sentence for the very severe conduct.
No fines were imposed other than the mandatory $53 court security fee.
Allen did add a recommendation that Merrifield be afforded any available treatment, counseling and educational opportunities while incarcerated. The amount of prison time Merrifield ultimately serves in prison will determined by the Utah Board of Pardons.
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