Utah Judge Reacts to Former Cop’s Child S*x Crimes Sentence Reduction Citing Unusual Reason

A former police officer from Ogden was sentenced to just 30 days in jail despite pleading guilty to serious s*xual offences involving a minor. Colten Johansen was initially facing years in prison. Still, Judge Catherine Conklin reduced the sentence, suspending most of it and leaving him with only a brief jail stay, citing several mitigating factors. 

Johansen pleaded guilty last December to two counts of attempted s*xual exploitation of a minor for viewing or possessing child p****graphy in 2024 and a count of forcible s*xual abuse. All of these three charges were second-degree felonies. In return, prosecutors agreed not to recommend prison, although they did seek jail time. 

Johansen was originally sentenced to three terms of 1 to 15 years in prison for the felony charges. Still, when he appeared before Judge Catherine Conklin on Friday, February 28, 2026, she suspended the sentence, giving the convicted ex-cop only 30 days in jail and 4 years of probation. The following Monday, he reported to the Weber County Jail to begin serving his time. 

Those present at Johansen’s sentencing see the case as “complicated” and point to various mitigating factors that led to the reduced sentence. Judge Conklin said she had “no eloquent speech” to offer regarding the handling of the sentence. 

Johansen’s crimes were revealed when he took a polygraph test in October 2024 while applying for another law enforcement job. The preliminary findings of the test indicated that Johansen was not being truthful, leading the tester to nudge him to jog his memory to see what might be causing the results. 

“That’s when Johansen revealed he had child s*x abuse material evidence stored in the garage of his Huntsville home from his days handling such cases for the Ogden Police Department, even pinpointing where it could be found. He also said he had engaged in a brief s*xual act with an infant in 1994,” Ksl reports. 

Johansen, who had served as the police school resource officer at Ogden High School, was soon arrested and formally charged on April 30, 2025. 

Judge Conklin rebuked Johansen for the forcible s*xual abuse charge when handing him her sentence. The victim also testified on behalf of Johansen and told the court that he does not feel victimized by him or the incident. 

As Johansen was a law enforcement officer in Weber County, his case was overseen by Davis County. Deputy Davis County attorney Ben Willoughby dubbed the prosecution of the case as “an unpleasant task.” Conklin also said that the charges related to attempted s*xual exploitation of a minor for possessing or viewing child p****graphy would not play a major role in the sentencing. Johansen, however, maintains that he only viewed adult material that was mixed in with the child p****graphy. 

The judge also addressed the mitigating factors she opined led to Johansen’s reduced sentence. These factors include the lack of any additional s*xual misdeeds on par with the 1994 incident in the following years, his decades-long service to the community while serving in law enforcement, the victim’s forgiveness and his own forthrightness in revealing the information that led to the investigation and the charges. 

Likewise, Prosecutor Willoughby also noted Johansen’s “remarkable act of honesty.” He also noted his remorse and the victim’s forgiveness as mitigating factors that worked in his favor, reducing his sentence. 

Defense attorney Ryan Bushell called Johansen a “pariah in the community.”

After his 30-day jail sentence, Johansen would have to remain in home confinement for another 60 days. He will also be on probation for four years. According to Bushell, Johansen will have to place his name on the s*x offender registry.