Longtime resident sentenced in Utah for child molestation

A longtime Huntington Beach resident was sentenced to a minimum of 20

years in prison after pleading guilty in October to four counts of

aggravated child sexual abuse in a Utah District Court.

The ruling Friday by Utah Third District Court Judge Timothy R. Hanson

sentenced James Denos, 73, to a minimum 20 years in a Utah state prison

for sexually abusing four of his granddaughters living in Utah.

Although the charges deal only with abuses that occurred in Utah,

family members say that Denos did molest the girls when they visited him

in Huntington Beach.

The Huntington Beach Police Department is conducting its own

investigation, but authorities could not give any further details.

The family has identified 17 alleged victims including relatives and

neighbors since August when one of the grandchildren spoke up, said

Darryll Gilliland, a surrogate son of Denos’ who added that Denos’ son

Ray claims his father molested his first known victim 50 years ago.

“They’re mostly girls between the ages of 3 and 11 and we’re concerned

because there could be a lot more victims in his church, with neighbors

and family,” Gilliland said.

Denos is a retired Long Beach junior high school teacher and the

former bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in

Westminster.

“It’s shocking, we did not see it or else we could have stopped it

years ago,” Gilliland said. “We encourage other victims like this to

speak up and get all the help they need.”