A Republican Utah state senator, J. Stuart Adams, changed the state's sexual consent laws in a way that benefited a family member accused of having sex with a 13-year-old, resulting in reduced charges and no jail time for the relative.
Mostly True
REPUBLICAN UTAH SENATOR CHANGES LAW SO HIS FAMILY MEMBER CAN SLEEP WITH CHILDREN
GOP Senator Changes Child Rape Law After Relative Accused of Sex With Minor - Newsweek
Source: newsweek.com
At a glance
Verified August 8, 2025Key Evidence
Newsweek and Perez Hilton report that an 18-year-old relative faced charges for sex with a 13-year-old but avoided jail after the law was changed.
perezhilton.comperezhilton.comRepublican Senator Gets Child Rape Law Changed - Just In Time To Save Relative...
newsweek.comnewsweek.comGOP Senator Changes Child Rape Law After Relative Accused of Sex With Minor
The New Republic and Jezebel confirm Senator J. Stuart Adams rewrote Utah's consent laws while his relative was charged.
jezebel.comjezebel.comGOP Senator Changed Utah’s Consent Law After Family Member Raped
newrepublic.comnewrepublic.comGOP Lawmaker Changes Law to Help Relative Facing Child Rape Charges
Multiple sources highlight public backlash against Adams for using his position to influence legislation benefiting his family.
ibtimes.sgibtimes.sgAnti-LGBTQ Utah Lawmaker Changed Age of Consent Laws to Help Relative Accused of...
comicsands.comcomicsands.comGOP Utah Senate President Slammed After Changing Law To Help Relative Who Raped...
The reporting
What the Evidence Shows
Multiple credible sources report that Utah State Senate President J. Stuart Adams, a Republican, was involved in changing Utah's sexual consent laws after a relative of his was charged with having sex with a 13-year-old girl. The law change effectively lowered the severity of the charges for 18-year-olds engaging in sexual activity with minors aged 13 to 16, which allowed the relative to plead guilty to reduced charges and avoid prison time.
Key points include:
The relative was initially facing serious felony charges related to sexual assault of a minor.
Senator Adams used his political influence to amend the law shortly before or during the legal proceedings.
The amendment altered the age of consent or related penalties, benefiting his family member's case.
This legislative action has drawn significant public criticism and accusations of conflict of interest and abuse of power.
While the claim that the senator changed the law so his family member could "sleep with children" is sensationalized, it is accurate that the law change directly impacted the legal consequences faced by his relative accused of sex with a minor. The senator did not create a new law permitting illegal activity but modified existing statutes to reduce penalties in this specific context.
Primary trail
Verified Sources7
Open source