- FAIRBANKS, Alaska - A former University of Alaska Fairbanks researcher who was facing a sex abuse charge in Utah involving a teenage boy from Alaska has pleaded guilty to a charge of lewdness involving a child. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner says Jeffrey Werner was sentenced to two months in jail following his recent plea.

The 47-year-old Werner was charged last year in Garfield County, Utah, one of the sites he took teenagers on trips with the FFA, the organization formerly known as Future Farmers of America. Werner was Alaska state adviser for the organization. 
Under Werner's plea agreement, the original charge of felony forcible sexual abuse was changed to the misdemeanor lewdness charge. According to court information, Werner has paid $10,000 restitution to the victim and a $1,000 fine.

 

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