FARMINGTON — A judge ordered Monday that a former gymnastics coach be granted separate trials on allegations that he sexually abused teen students in cases six years apart.

Kelly C. Brown’s attorney, Tara Isaacson, argued that keeping the cases together could lead to an unfair trial, while a Davis County prosecutor, Benjamin Willoughby, contended that severing the proceedings would greatly weaken the prosecution’s case.

After a morning hearing, 2nd District Judge David J. Williams cited a past case that resulted in a procedure for judges to follow in considering motions to separate trials. In Brown’s case, the alleged crimes occurred six years apart, in 2015 and 2021. He ruled that because of the length of time between incidents, the alleged crimes “are not part of a common scheme or plan” that would signal the need for a joint trial.

Isaacson cited past cases indicating Brown should have separate trials. She said the span of time and the somewhat different types of alleged actions by Brown in the two cases argued in favor of splitting the trials to ensure he is tried fairly.

Willoughby asserted that by severing the trials, prosecutors would be deprived of the opportunity to present evidence in a joint trial that Brown and an alleged victim in the 2015 case shared hundreds of sexually charged social media messages. By splitting the trials, jurors evaluating the 2021 case will not hear the “strong evidence” of Brown’s alleged past showing he was “preying on and sexually molesting girls” in a gym, Willoughby said.

He said it would be relevant to show Brown’s alleged “breakdown of professional restraints” in both girls’ cases.

According to charging documents, Brown, 33, of North Ogden, is accused of sexually touching a student at a Layton gym and exchanging nude photos with her. The girl came forward in 2021, saying the alleged conduct had occurred over several years.

After the charges were filed, another girl who was taught by Brown at a Bountiful gym saw news coverage of the new case and approached police in 2016 with a report of similar conduct.

Brown is accused of first-degree felony object rape; forcible sexual abuse and two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, second-degree felonies; three counts of dealing in materials harmful to a minor, third-degree felonies; and class A misdemeanor sexual abuse of a minor.

Last November, Williams tossed out a Layton police detective’s interrogation of Brown, saying the defendant’s rights were violated because the detective was deceptive. The Utah Attorney General’s Office has appealed that ruling to the Utah Court of Appeals.

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