Former West High teacher sentenced to prison for sex crimes

Today, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced a Third District Court judge sentenced a former West High School teacher, Sterrett Oney Neale, to prison for sex-related crimes committed against one of his students.
 
The victim-survivor told investigators about a pattern of the abuse that began in March of 2017 after a school play that the victim participated in and the defendant directed. The victim-survivor was a 17-year-old student of the defendant at the time.  Initially, the defendant would have the victim come to his classroom after school, where he would kiss and sexually abuse her. In August of 2017, the defendant began having the victim meet him in the parking lot of St. Mark’s Hospital where he would pick her up and drive her to his home while his wife was not there. He would pull into his garage; while making the victim duck down so no one would see her. He then would take her back to his bedroom and sexually abuse her. This pattern of abuse lasted for over a year before she turned 18 years old.
 
On Thursday, November 20, 2025, a Third District Court jury found the defendant guilty of three counts of first-degree felony object rape, two counts of first-degree felony forcible sodomy, and two counts of forcible sexual abuse.
 
Today, a judge sentenced the defendant to:
 
Count 1 first-degree felony object rape: five years to life
Count 2 first-degree felony object rape: five years to life            
Count 3 first-degree felony object rape: five years to life
 
Counts 1-3 run concurrently to each other
 
Count 4 first-degree felony forcible sodomy: five years to life
Count 5 first-degree felony forcible sodomy: five years to life      
 
Counts 4-5 run concurrently to each other, but consecutively to the sentence for counts 1-3
 
Count 6 second-degree felony forcible sex abuse: one to fifteen years
Count 7 second-degree felony forcible sex abuse: one to fifteen years
 
Counts 6-7 run concurrent to each other, but consecutively to the sentence for counts 1-3 and consecutive to the sentences for counts 4-5.
 
 
“This sentence sends a strong message to our community that those in a special position of trust with our children will be held accountable if they violate that trust. We appreciate the victim-survivor for her bravery to stand up to her abuser, and hope that her voice empowers others that may be suffering in silence,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. “I want to thank the prosecutors, Blake Royall and Brad Cooley, and our support staff, Anna Stoker and Natalie Houtz, for their dedication. I want to thank our social worker, Cami Heng, for her work with the victim-survivor throughout this difficult process. We appreciate the thorough investigation done by Salt Lake City Police.”
 

This is for case # 191904550