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Sam Penrod reporting A verdict has been reached in the case of a chiropractor accused of sexual assault. Dr. Grant Hildreth was on trial on six counts of forcible sexual abuse.
The jury deliberated for nearly 12 hours over the last two days, and it was a mixed verdict. It found Hildreth guilty on two counts and not guilty on the other four.
The trial ends a week of testimony on a case where a doctor was accused of taking improprieties with his female patients.
Dr. Grant Hildreth walked out of court after hearing the jury had found him guilty on two of the six charges against him. Defense attorney Carolyn Howard Morris said, "Dr. Hildreth was acquitted on four of the six charges, which we are very happy for. Of course, we would like to have had an acquittal on six of the six charges."
Dr. Hildreth was arrested last year after a former secretary came forward with accusations she was inappropriately touched by him during chiropractic treatments.
The jury found Hildreth not guilty of abusing two other women who came forward with allegations after news of his arrest.
Prosecutor Alex Ludlow said, "It was a difficult case mainly because of all of the allegations were made within the context of chiropractic treatment, and that's a tough thing to prove because there's nobody else there, and you have the doctor saying one thing and the victim saying something else. It's always a very difficult case when you have a 'He said, she said'-type of it."
Hildreth now faces prison time on the two convictions, and prosecutors are still considering whether to pursue another trial with yet other accusers. Ludlow said, "I still truly believe there was some inappropriate actions at that point, but obviously there is a standard of proof the state is obligated to meet, and the jury in this case didn't find something there."
Dr. Hildreth's chiropractic practice was shut down after his arrest, and now a new chiropractor, who has no involvement with him, has taken over the office.
E-mail: spenrod@ksl.com
