Homeless man sentenced to 5 years to life in prison in 2 sexual assault cases

OGDEN — A homeless man has been sentenced to up to life in prison in two sexual assault cases involving women he met at an Ogden homeless shelter.

Second District Judge Matthew J. Hansen sentenced Thomas Patrick Terry, 31, Friday to a term of five years to life in prison for rape on Dec. 26, 2025, a first-class felony, and a term of one to 15 years imprisonment for forcible sexual abuse on Sept. 5, 2025, a second-degree felony. The sentences were ordered to run concurrent.

Terry pleaded guilty in the cases on April 7 as part of a plea deal. The forcible sexual abuse count in the Sept. 5 case was reduced from rape, a first-degree felony, and two charges were dismissed in the Dec. 26 case, counts of assault and unlawful detention, class B misdemeanors.

The charges stem from separate cases, both involving women who had been staying at the Lantern House homeless shelter in Ogden, like Terry.

In the Sept. 5 case, the victim went with Terry and a friend of his to a parking lot in Weber County, where Terry raped her despite her protestations. In the Dec. 26 case, the victim walked with Terry to a gas station. The man then dragged her behind a freight container and raped her despite her pleas for him to stop. In both cases, Terry's DNA was subsequently found on swabs taken from the women's bodies, according to the plea agreement.

"It appears Thomas is preying on women in the homeless community and he is a threat to their safety," reads a police booking affidavit in the Sept. 6 case.

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Tim Vandenack

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Tim Vandenack covers immigration, multicultural issues and Northern Utah for KSL. He worked several years for the Standard-Examiner in Ogden and has lived and reported in Mexico, Chile and along the U.S.-Mexico border.