A brutal new attack ad from a national pro-democracy group goes straight at Utah Senate President Stuart Adams, blasting him for helping change state law in a way that prosecutors later cited while cutting a plea deal for his step-granddaughter in a child rape case. Adams, who faces his first-ever primary, is also under fire for backing a massive Box Elder County data center.
In 2023, Adams’ step-granddaughter, then 18, was charged with two counts of rape of a child and two counts of sodomy on a child, all first-degree felonies, after she had sex with a 13-year-old boy. In Utah, anyone under 14 cannot legally consent. She was facing years in prison.
At the time, Utah law allowed 17-year-olds to be charged as a juvenile with unlawful sexual activity, a third-degree felony. During the 2024 Utah Legislature, Adams backed a change letting prosecutors, in limited cases, treat 18-year-olds accused of child rape as minors if they were still enrolled in high school, opening the door to lesser charges than a first-degree felony. Adams’ step-granddaughter just so happened to fit those very circumstances.
The change was not retroactive. Even so, the judge, prosecutor and defense attorney in her case cited it as a major factor in offering a plea. Instead of four first-degree felonies, she pleaded guilty to second-degree felony aggravated assault and three misdemeanor counts of sexual battery. The deal also spared her from the sex offender registry.
Adams has said he did nothing wrong, noting she ultimately received a more serious charge than the law change provided for.
The spot from JoinTheUnion doesn’t pull any punches. Over footage of a girl on a swing, on-screen text reads, “The only violent crime in Utah above the national average is rape. Stuart Adams weakened penalties for child rapists.” The screen fades to black and reads, “Behold your little ones,” a nod to a Book of Mormon verse.
Adams faces Republican primary challengers Stephanie Hollist and Braden Hess. It’s his first primary in the Utah Legislature.
JoinTheUnion, headed by former Republican consultant and Park City resident Reed Galen, says the ad will run on KSL and across digital platforms in Utah ahead of next week’s primary.
"Utahns, and voters in Senate District 7 deserve better than Stuart Adams. Time and again he’s put himself and his interests before those of the people, including in ways that are beyond imagination," Galen said in a text message to Utah Political Watch.
As Adams worked to defuse criticism from the scandal, Senate staffers distributed talking points to Senate Republicans stressing she did not go unpunished because she was “publicly arrested,” “spent 8 days in jail,” and wore an ankle monitor for more than 500 days.
Utah’s primary is June 23.
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