Intent and consent were the key words as attorneys offered their closing arguments in the case of an American Fork chiropractor accused of sexually assaulting patients.

The jury deliberated for hours in the trial of Grant Joel Hildreth Monday. Jury members had been released for the night by 9 p.m. without having reached a verdict.

"We are thinking this is positive for our case," said defense attorney Carolyn Howard-Morris. "We are very surprised that it's gone on as long as it has."

Hildreth, 45, is charged with six counts of forcible sexual abuse stemming from allegations from three former patients and a former employee who was receiving chiropractic treatment from him.

The four accusers testified on Wednesday. The former employee testified that in May 2007, she mentioned to Hildreth that she had a bladder infection and he offered to examine it for her. After examining her vaginal area, Hildreth applied an antibiotic gel he said would treat the infection. She took the gel home with her, but the next time he examined her, he applied the gel himself again while fondling her vaginal area and breasts, she testified.

One patient reported that Hildreth's hand brushed her vaginal area several times during a treatment session, including one time in which he put his hand underneath her underwear. Another patient, who was seven months pregnant at the time of the alleged abuse, reported that Hildreth fondled her buttocks, while the third patient reported that he fondled her breasts.

For a defendant to be found guilty of forcible sexual abuse, the prosecution must show that his actions were committed in order to gratify sexual desires. Deputy county attorney Alex Ludlow said there was no question that sexual gratification was Hildreth's intent.

"What kind of gratification did Dr. Hildreth get out of this? I don't know," Ludlow said to the jury in his closing arguments. "But it's clear, if you look at this overall picture, that was his intent."

Howard-Morris painted a different picture. She referred to testimony from other chiropractors, chiropractic assistants and massage therapists who said that inadvertent touching of sensitive areas does sometimes occur during chiropractic treatment. She also said that the massages and procedures Hildreth was performing when the alleged abuse took place are all legitimate and recognized chiropractic techniques.

Howard-Morris said that the prosecution did not show an intent by Hildreth to achieve sexual gratification, and said another major element that must be proven for a conviction on forcible sexual abuse charges -- consent -- was clearly shown by the patients themselves. One accuser who said Hildreth fondled her breast during a procedure meant to adjust the ribs indicated on a form that she was feeling pain in her chest area, and on a chart where the patient was supposed to mark the painful areas of her body, she put two Xs near the breasts.

"It was consensual by (her) own writing on her intake form," Howard-Morris said.

Howard-Morris said that the former employee allowed Hildreth to apply antibiotic gel to her vaginal area on multiple occasions, even though she took the gel home with her and applied it herself. She acknowledged that state guidelines prohibit chiropractors from providing that kind of treatment, but said that it is an issue of professionalism, not sexual abuse.

"If Dr. Hildreth goes before the chiropractic board to have his license reinstated, they will sanction him for what happened with (the former employee)," Howard-Morris said. "He in fact deserves to be sanctioned for that. But it was not a crime."

As she did during last week's proceedings, Howard-Morris pointed out that the three former patients did not report the alleged abuse to the police until seeing news reports of the allegations by the former employee, and suggested that it was only natural to second-guess your doctor if you see him on television with sexual abuse charges pending against him. During witness testimony earlier in the day, she asked the mother of one of the accusers whether she persuaded her daughter to call the police. The mother said that she informed her daughter of the charges against Hildreth, and gave her contact information for the police in case she chose to make a report.

The accuser's mother was one of two rebuttal witnesses called to the stand by the prosecution on Monday. The other, a close friend of a different accuser, testified that the accuser told her she had been abused by Hildreth shortly after the alleged abuse took place.

"I was horrified," the witness said.

The witness acknowledged that she continued to see Hildreth herself, and did not switch chiropractors because, "I hate change. I hate confrontation." She did, however, say that she brought her husband, who was also being treated by Hildreth, with her to subsequent treatment sessions.

• Jeremy Duda can be reached at 344-2561 or jduda@heraldextra.com.