Pleasant Grove victim advocate reports mixed crime trends and highlights new state laws on child abuse and online offenses

Kimberly, the city’s victim advocate, told the Pleasant Grove City Council that while some categories of reported incidents declined year to year, the department has seen more severe cases and an increase in child-protection (DCFS) cases.

Kimberly said domestic-violence and family-problem reports declined by 22 compared with the same period last year, from about 167 in 2024 to about 145 in 2025. She said sexual-offense reports declined from 44 to 37. At the same time she said DCFS cases increased by seven and that assaults — which she described as more violent than in prior years — rose from 37 in 2024 to about 47 in 2025. She also reported a decline in fraud cases and a steady number of death investigations year to year.

Kimberly provided service metrics from January 1 through the reporting date: she said victim advocates served 102 clients with current criminal offenses, provided 615 information-and-referral contacts, delivered 35 emotional-support and safety interactions, completed 607 civil/criminal justice system assistance actions and made 60 requests for protective orders. These counts were presented to the council as internal program tallies.

During her report Kimberly highlighted recent state legislative changes she said will affect local work with child victims and other vulnerable people. She described Senate Bill 24 (referred to in her remarks as the child-abuse and torture amendment) as expanding the ability to define injury to include emotional and psychological abuse in severe child-abuse cases and said the bill raises penalties in the most extreme cases. She quoted Salt Lake District Attorney Sam Gill: “For the first time now in the state of Utah, we will also be able to define an injury based on emotional and psychological abuse that children undergo.”

Kimberly also described other legislative changes she said were passed this session: a new offense related to virtual-reality targeting of minors that can be charged as a third-degree felony under certain conditions; a new crime criminalizing threats to distribute counterfeit or manipulated images of minors; and increased penalties for crimes committed against incapacitated adults. She told the council the intent is to hold offenders accountable for harms that previously could not be treated as felonies and that these changes should help prosecutors and victim advocates pursue more serious charges in some cases.

Kimberly urged continued outreach to underserved populations and said advocates plan to coordinate more with school resource officers and county partners to expand access to multilingual services. She also described Camp Hope, a district attorney–sponsored resiliency program that sends children affected by trauma to multi-year summer programs, and said such efforts aim to “build resiliency in children so they’re not defined by the trauma that they experienced.”

No formal council action was taken on the victim-advocate report; Kimberly’s presentation was informational. Councilmembers did not propose motions during the item, and the item ended with thanks to the advocate for the report.