04-04-2025
Report: Law enforcement saw thousands of cases of child abuse in 2024
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill speaks to reporters during a news conference in Salt Lake City on Thursday, April 3, 2025. Next to him is a picture of child abuse victim Norlin Cruz. (Credit: Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office)
In 2024, the Utah Division of Child and Family Services confirmed thousands of cases of child abuse around the state.
That's according to a report from the division, highlighted Thursday by Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill, whose office is sharing resources and trying to increase awareness for Child Abuse Awareness Month this April.
Child Abuse Prevention Contacts
Emergency: 911
Prevent Child Abuse Utah: (801) 393-3366
Utah Child Abuse Prevention Hotline: 855-323-3237
The Family Support Center: 801-955-3110
Children's Justice Center: 801-851-8554
Childhelp: (1-800) 4-A-Child or (1-800) 422-4453 (Local Chapters in Utah)
Intermountain's Center for Safe and Healthy Families: 801-662-1000
The Children's Center Utah: 801-582-5534
According to data from the division, there were at least 8,791 confirmed victims of child abuse and neglect during the 2024 fiscal year, stemming from nearly 50,000 reports. Of those reports, about 22,650 met the criteria for a Child Protective Services investigation.
At least 70% of the perpetrators were the victim's parents, and an additional 16% were other relatives.
'Child abuse sees no economic nor political boundaries. It is a global problem that can only be addressed with community-level solutions,' Gill said in a statement Thursday.
In 2024 alone, Gill's office filed 276 physical child abuse-related charges and 135 child sex abuse-related charges. Still, Gill said child abuse is often one of the most unreported crimes.
Lawmakers passed a handful of bills this year aimed at prosecuting cases of child abuse, with bills increasing the penalties or widening the scope of current crimes to give prosecutors more tools.
Lawmakers passed dozens of bills that add, increase, or enhance criminal penalties. Here's a list.
That includes a bill that makes it easier to prosecute abuse that happens online, a bill that adds an aggravating factor if the child abuse is part of a ritual or religious ceremony, and a bill to increase the penalty for the most egregious cases, now defined as 'child torture.'
That last bill, SB24, targets 'exceptionally cruel or exceptionally depraved' behavior that results in physical or psychological pain. If found guilty, the perpetrator could be charged with a third-degree felony punishable by a 10-year minimum sentence.
The legislation was, in part, a result of the case of Norlin Cruz, a 6-year-old boy killed in 2019 after being subjected to what investigators said was the worst case of child abuse they'd ever seen. Cruz's mother, Reyna Elizabeth Flores-Rosales, was convicted of reckless child abuse homicide, a first-degree felony, and three counts of second-degree felony child abuse.
SB24, Gill's office said in a news release, 'came about as our office prosecuted the mother of Norlin Cruz.' Gill on Thursday spoke to reporters alongside a picture of Cruz, who he often refers to when talking about prosecuting crimes against children.
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