Hero dad charged with child abuse and torture after tragic hike in Utah mountains

 

Father charged with child abuse, torture after taking kids on winter hike in Utah

By Rachel Goodman  Global News

Posted November 27, 2025 3:48 pm

 3 min read

View image in full screen

Photo shows the Big Cottonwood Creek, in the Big Cottonwood canyon, near Salt Lake City. AP Photo / Rick Bowmer

A 31-year-old Utah father who was hailed as a hero for protecting his three young children on a winter hike last month is now facing child abuse and torture charges.

Micah Smith was commended in October for saving his family’s lives when he and his three children — an eight-year-old daughter, a four-year-old son and a two-year-old son — survived after becoming trapped in a winter storm while hiking in Big Cottonwood Canyon in Utah.

The family were rescued a day after going missing. Two of the children were taken to the hospital in critical condition, while Smith and his third child were deemed to be in a fair and stable condition, the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office said.

Smith was later described on a now-defunct GoFundMe page as having  “bravely sacrificed himself” to protect his children, People reported.

Now, he is facing multiple charges of aggravated child abuse and child torture, and is being held without bail, Salt Lake County jail records show.

“What seemed like an innocent hike with his three children quickly turned into a nightmare when the defendant chose to summit a mountain over the safety of the kids,” the indictment says, according to ABC4 Utah.

“During the 24-hour ordeal, the victims expressed that they were cold, tired and wanted to go home,” the documents allege, adding that they described Smith as “ill-prepared and selfish,” and as displaying odd behaviour and a lack of concern for his children when rescue services arrived.

Police say Smith reported leaving home with his children around 9 a.m. to go hiking and that they summitted around 6 p.m.

Shortly after reaching the top, the weather “turned into mist, fog, rain, and hail,” the documents allege. ABC 4 says he told officers that by 8 p.m., the family had descended 600 feet before he decided it was necessary to find shelter and attempted to fashion a protective screen using a rock and large sticks to keep the children warm.

Around this time, the documents allege that the two-year-old stopped breathing and that Smith performed CPR until he began breathing on his own.

According to charging documents, Smith told police that his two-year-old son fell and hit his head and appeared “dazed.”

It added that the eight-year-old told authorities their father had said they were going on a long hike, which ended with her also having to perform life-saving measures on the four-year-old as he also stopped breathing.

Deputies say Smith reported earlier during the hike that he had sent photos to his wife, who suggested they start making their way down the mountain.

He also allegedly told police he was “comfortable hiking in the dark without light,” despite his children saying they were frightened.

After being rescued, the four-year-old child reportedly underwent 25 minutes of CPR and remains in the hospital, where he suffered a stroke and had a portion of his skull removed, according to People.

Police allege that a video found on Smith’s phone, captured from the day of the hike, shows his eight-year-old asking, “Are we going to freeze to death, daddy?” The hike is known for being challenging, and is not recommended for children or beginners.

Smith apparently admitted to being unfamiliar with the trail.

Nevada Assembly Panel OKs Bill Extending Statute of Limitations in Child Sex Abuse Cases

 Assemblywoman Lisa Krasner, R-Reno, Speaker Pro Tempore Irene Bustamante Adams, D-Las Vegas, and attorney Gloria Allred testify on Wednesday, March 1, 2017, before the Assembly Judiciary Committee about Assembly Bill 145, which would extend the Nevada statute of limitations for victims of child sexual abuse to sue. (Ben Botkin/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

By BEN BOTKIN
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

CARSON CITY — The Assembly Judiciary Committee on Friday passed a bill that would give child sexual abuse victims another decade to sue their perpetrators.

Assembly Bill 145 would extend the Nevada statute of limitations for victims to sue by another decade, from 10 years to 20 years. The clock on the statute of limitations would start after a victim turns 18 or discovers an injury was caused by the abuse, whichever comes later.

Normally I would go slightly ballistic at the idea of any limits on a survivor's right to sue. But this 20 year limit from 18, or the time of discovery of an injury, whichever comes later, seems like a fairly reasonable compromise with the rights of the accused to a fair trial. It all depends on what is meant by 'injury'. If injury includes becoming aware of psychological or emotional damage, then I think it is a good deal.

Supporters say the measure would help victims who often take years to realize that they were victimized as children and confront their abusers.

The measure passed unanimously and now goes to the full Assembly for a vote.

The bill is sponsored by Assemblywoman Lisa Krasner, R-Reno, and Speaker Pro Tem Irene Bustamante Adams, D-Las Vegas. Several other lawmakers signed on as co-sponsors.

Newfie to Serve Less Than 4 Years for Brutal Rapes and Sodomy of 11y/o Girl

Christopher Butt sentenced to five years for raping 11-year-old

CBC

A St. John's, Newfoundland man has been sentenced to five years' jail time for brutally raping an 11-year-old girl, leaving her injured and unable to walk, sit or wash herself for days afterward.

Christopher Ford Butt, 41, pleaded guilty in June to one count of sexual assault and one count of uttering threats.

Justice William Goodridge handed down the sentence — the minimum allowed under the Criminal Code — in Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court on Wednesday.

The charges were laid in July 2014 when the victim's mother discovered the assaults and called the police.

Over four weeks that summer, Butt repeatedly lured the girl into his home, showed her pornographic videos, and sexually assaulted her, including anal and vaginal intercourse.

He threatened the girl to force her to do what he wanted, including pulling her hair. He also told her that he would "beat the living shit" out of her parents and burn their house down if she told anyone what he did.


Severe physical injury

The physical injuries to the girl were so severe that she was unable to walk for a couple of days afterwards and couldn't take a bath or sit down to wash herself. A medical examination revealed that skin in her genitalia was broken from the assaults.

Goodridge accepted the Crown prosecutor and defence counsel's joint submission of a five-year sentence.

In his decision, the justice said the circumstances of the assaults "attract a high degree of public abhorrence," but mitigating factors included Butt's guilty plea, apology, participation in rehabilitation programs and commitment to further counselling.

"There is also the reality that Mr. Butt's childhood was marred by his own experiences as a victim of child sexual abuse," wrote Goodridge, who also noted that Butt suffers from bipolar disorder.

"This does not justify or excuse his criminal acts, but it does help in understanding possible contributing forces that are in play."

Goodridge also noted the minimum punishment would not ordinarily be imposed in a case like this, but the girl's ability to testify at a trial was uncertain, meaning a conviction wasn't guaranteed, and her parents also wished to avoid the stress of a trial.

What about the stress to the girl when Butt gets out of prison next year?


1 year, 38 weeks left in sentence

"The quid pro quo of the plea bargain assured a conviction, and saved (the girl) and her family the added emotional stress of going through a trial," wrote Goodridge.

Butt has been in custody since Aug. 1, 2014.

For the two years, two months and four days he spent behind bars since his arrest, Butt was given time-and-a-half credit, knocking 1,194 days off his sentence, leaving him with one year and 38 weeks left to serve.

And with time off for good behaviour, he is likely to get out of prison next year, while the girl is still just 14 years old. Amazing! A brutal, vicious number of rapes and he's back in the community long before the child has a chance to heal and certainly long before her fear of him subsides. 

Is it just me or do prosecutors give away the farm on plea deals? This is just appalling!

The British Sailors Arrested for Brutally Gang-raping Young Nova Scotia Woman

4 Royal Navy sailors charged with brutal gang-rape

CBC News has uncovered more details about four British Navy sailors accused of sexually assaulting a woman while visiting Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

The four men range in age from 23 to 35 years old and all of them serve in the British Royal Navy. One of them has a girlfriend while another has been married for four years.

The men have been charged with sexual assault causing bodily harm and group sexual assault after an alleged incident last week.

The major crime unit of the Canadian military police says on April 10 the four were in the barracks at CFB Shearwater just east of Halifax and gang-raped a civilian woman.

The British sailors were here in Halifax to play in a hockey tournament against Canadian teams.

Their social media posts show them doing fairly average things when they got here, visiting different parts of the city and remarking about the weather.

CBC has confirmed that on the day of the alleged incident, the team played at 8 a.m. local time against the Canadian Fleet Diving Unit and at 2 p.m. against the Shearwater Over 45 team.

It was sometime after that game that the four British sailors allegedly sexually assaulted the woman in the base barracks.

The team's Facebook page was taken down immediately after news broke about the alleged assault and at least one of the sailor's pages, Darren Smalley's, has been taken down.

As for the British Navy, it says it will co-operate with Canadian authorities who have jurisdiction prosecuting the case.

In a release Friday, a spokesperson said the navy "takes allegations of this nature very seriously, however as legal proceedings continue it would be inappropriate to comment further."

The accused are:

Craig Stoner, 24, of Stonehouse.
Darren Smalley, 35, of Gosport. 
Joshua Finbow, 23, of Stockbridge.
Simon Radford, 31, of Lower Gosport.

The four are spending the weekend in jail, awaiting their next court appearance on Monday. At that time, they'll go before a judge for a show-cause hearing to determine whether they're going to receive bail and if so, the conditions of that bail.

4 Royal Navy Sailors Charged With Gang-Raping Young Woman in Nova Scotia

12 Wing Shearwater, Halifax Regional District, Nova Scotia

Four members of the British Royal Navy are accused of gang-raping a woman at 12 Wing Shearwater last week.

The British sailors were arrested Thursday and appeared in Dartmouth provincial court Friday. They are Craig Stoner, 24; Darren Smalley, 35; Simon Radford, 31; and Joshua Finbow, 23.

Each man is charged with sexual assault causing bodily harm and committing a sexual assault with other persons.

The accused are members of the Royal Navy’s hockey team, which is in the Halifax area for a military tournament.

The sexual assault allegedly happened April 10 at a drinking party in the barracks at Shearwater and involved intercourse, sources told The Chronicle Herald.

The alleged victim, a civilian, is a young woman who lives in the Halifax area. Her identity is protected by a publication ban.

The woman went to hospital and was examined by sexual assault nurses, sources said.

The charges were laid Thursday by a member of the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service.

Military police obtained search warrants earlier this week and seized bedding, clothing and electronic devices such as cellphones, laptops and iPads.

“I expect very high-ups in both the Canadian and British navies are going to be watching this case closely,” said a source familiar with the investigation.

The British sailors appeared in court Friday two at a time and were represented by duty lawyer Alex Baranowski. All four were remanded to the Dartmouth jail until Monday while lawyers negotiate bail terms.

Outside court, prosecutor Scott Morrison said the Crown will consent to their release if they post large cash deposits, surrender their passports and agree to remain in Canada.

According to court documents, the men all live in the United Kingdom. Stoner is from Stonehouse while Smalley is from Gosport, Radford is from Lower Gosport and Finbow is from Broughton Stockbridge.

Morrison would not comment on the complainant’s injuries or her condition.