Defendant sentenced for sexual abuse on Lake Powell in 2002
Blain Arno Pannell, 44, of Taylorsville, Utah, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Susan R. Bolton to 30 months’ imprisonment and required to register as a sex offender. Pannell previously pleaded guilty to one count of sexual abuse.
The evidence presented at sentencing indicated that, beginning around 2002, the defendant engaged in a sexual relationship with his then 16-year-old niece. On one occasion in June 2002, the defendant took his niece and a 17-year-old nephew out on his boat on Lake Powell, provided them with alcohol and marijuana, and then engaged in sexual contact with both of them. The matter was not reported to law enforcement until 2010.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the National Park Service, Investigative Services Branch.