Gavel. Photo by Bill Oxford on Unsplash
LOGAN — A 34-year-old Price man has pleaded guilty to sexting with an undercover officer in Logan. Richard R. Aldaba was arrested and charged in November 2021.
Aldaba participated in a virtual hearing in 1st District Court Wednesday afternoon, appearing by web conference from the Utah State Prison. He accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to three amended counts of enticing a minor by internet or text, a third-degree felony.
As part of the agreement, prosecutors dropped three remaining charges.
On Mar. 16, 2021, Aldaba messaged a Logan City police officer on a social networking app called MocoSpace. The officer was posing as a 12-year-old girl.
As the messaging continued, Aldaba asked the officer for their phone number to exchange text messages. When the two began texting, the defendant began sending sexually explicit messages, describing what he wanted to do with the supposed girl. He also expressed an interest in meeting up in person.
Aldaba continued to request a picture and asked the undercover officer to promise that they weren’t a cop. The messaging continued into the night but then stopped.
The officer later learned that Aldaba was arrested the next day and booked into the Carbon County Jail for violating his probation. He had previously been convicted of multiple drug crimes and was later sentenced to one-year in prison.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Judge Brian Cannell accepted Aldaba’s plea deal and scheduled sentencing for Aug. 10.
Aldaba remains in prison on the unrelated drug case. He could face up to five more years in prison.
will@cvradio.com