OGDEN -- A former South Ogden police officer has been sentenced to a possible life prison term on charges of aggravated sexual abuse of a child and forcible sodomy.
Shortly after Andrew Welling was charged last spring, South Ogden police said their internal investigation found none of the illicit sexual contact occurred while the Farr West resident was on duty.
Welling, 41, worked for the agency from August 2008 until his resignation in January while both the internal and criminal investigations were ongoing.
On Thursday, 2nd District Judge Michael DiReda sentenced Welling to five years to life in Utah State Prison.
Welling has been held in Weber County Jail in lieu of $200,000 bail since his March 1 arrest on 10 first-degree felony charges.
Investigators learned Welling had an ongoing sexual relationship with a youth that began when the victim was younger than 14. The abuse occurred over two years, from March 2007 through April 2009, according to court records.
In a plea negotiation in July, Welling pleaded guilty to two of the 10 charges. Seven counts of forcible sodomy and one count of aggravated sexual abuse of a child were dismissed in return for the guilty pleas.
All of the charges carry maximum prison terms of five years to life.
Welling was placed on administrative leave in November 2010 after the Weber County Sheriff's Office notified the South Ogden Police Department of the criminal investigation.
Officials with the sheriff's office, which supplies law enforcement services to Farr West, where the crimes occurred, said Welling has been cooperative with investigators. However, officials stopped short of saying whether the case included a confession from Welling.
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