Cache Valley man sentenced to 60 days in jail with work release for stalking
Editor’s note: to protect the confidentiality of the victims, The Utah Statesman has agreed to identify them by only their first names.
Luke Champlin was sentenced to 60 days in jail with work release on Tuesday, after he plead guilty to three Class A misdemeanors — two for stalking and one for failing to stop at command of law enforcement.
Champlin, of Smithfield, was arrested in May 2018 when police found him outside the apartment of four female USU students, one who was his ex-girlfriend. Throughout the last month, the roommates reported several bizarre incidents: a stolen porch light bulb, super glue on their car handles and windshield wipers, firecrackers thrown into their window wells and diesel poured over their doormat.
In the sentencing hearing, each of the four women gave statements detailing their relationships with Champlin and the fear they felt both in that month and afterward.
“I don’t see Logan and Utah State the same way I used to,” said Lexi, the woman he had dated for six months before the incident. “Luke stole my freedom.”
Lexi recounted the recent incident at the University of Utah in which student Lauren McCluskey was killed by her ex-boyfriend, and another incident in Logan in 2014, in which another female student was killed by her ex-boyfriend in an apartment complex next door to the house Lexi had lived in when she was being stalked.
“It’s horrible to think that someone has to die for people to take them seriously,” Lexi said. “Stalking isn’t taken seriously enough.”
Bruce Johns, a Logan psychologist that has been working with Champlin, spoke after the victims’ statements on the sessions he had with Champlin following the arrest.
“Luke had been living a double life for a long time,” Johns said. “He wanted to believe people weren’t hurt as much as they were.”
Johns said Champlin changed over the course of their sessions and “became a humble young man, ashamed by his own behavior.”
In his own statement, Champlin apologized to the victims and said he “accepted full responsibility for his actions.”
“I feel blessed I was caught,” Champlin said. “I needed to be shaken up.”
Judge Kevin Allen responded to Champlin saying, “I am a big believer in redemption, but redemption has only begun for you. When you finish probation, that’s when we’ll see if you’ve really changed.”
Champlin was sentenced to 60 days in jail with work release. He was also charged a $1000 fine and $1,132.78 in restitution. He will continue counseling, go through the moral reconation therapy program and be evaluated for substance abuse. Allen also ordered Champlin to write a letter of apology to each victim. Champlin is not to have either direct or indirect contact with the victims or their families.
“Our culture has go to do a better job of respecting women,” said Allen.
After the sentencing, Lexi said, “I feel like I can finally breathe again. This is what he needs, and this is what we need to heal.”