The release on bail of an American Fork man accused of trying to hire a hit man to murder his wife has sparked outrage from national and local victims rights groups.

Only a day after being arrested, James Gau, 50, was released on Wednesday after paying $1,500 of a $10,000 bail amount set by Judge Harold Albright of the Reno Justice Court, said Reno police Sgt. Dave Evans in an interview with the Daily Herald. State law allows the accused to go free pending arraignment after paying 15 percent of the set bail.

Gau, who has six children, was arrested for felony solicitation of murder after he tried to hire a hit man to kill his wife so he could avoid a messy divorce and live with his new boyfriend, police said. Detectives said Gau moved to Reno in the past several weeks after separating from his wife and telling her he was gay and wanted to live with his boyfriend. Evans said Gau had told several people he met in Reno that he would pay them to kill his wife.

Evans said FBI agents were watching Sheryl Gau’s home on Tuesday. She was told of the plot before her husband’s arrest. A district attorney’s office spokesperson in Reno said a formal complaint charging Gau with one count of solicitation for murder had been filed with the court on Thursday.

Gau is free to leave the state to return to Utah, but “we have suggested to the wife that she seek a restraining order, but it would be up to her to take action on that,” Evans said.

Should Gau miss his arraignment hearing, scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 7 according to a court clerk, a warrant could be issued for his arrest, Evans said.

Gau allegedly gave the would-be hit man, who had tipped off police, a photo of Sheryl, his wife of 28 years, with their six children, Evans told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

“With their pending divorce and splitting of the property, he just felt it was easier for her to die than to go through a divorce,” he said. “In this case, it appears he wanted to make his life easier and get on with his new lifestyle. He had no regard for his wife or his children. It seemed like he just wanted to get this thing done and was more concerned with his social life.”

A general manager for Mission Industries linen supply store in Carson City, Gau was in his work vehicle when he met the man about 5 p.m. Tuesday in a parking lot, police said.

Evans said Gau asked the would-be hit man not to kill his wife at the home, wanted him to make it look like a robbery, and wanted the man to break her neck to avoid blood.

Gau told the man he would pay him a couple thousand dollars after collecting his wife’s life insurance, Evans said.

“I am speechless, wow,” said Kim Kowallis of the Women & Children in Crisis shelter in Provo about Gau’s release and bail payment. “It seems horrifying. That he can get out so quickly and easily is a bit hard to take for anyone in this field. I’m appalled.

“If the wife decides she is in danger or feels concerned, she can call the shelter and we would be glad to put her and her family up. There is a possibility she is in danger.”

“It is outrageous to let a man out who is threatening and has made arrangements to have his wife killed,” said a victim advocate with the Utah County-based nonprofit ChainBreaker Foundation, which assists local victims of domestic violence and abuse. The advocate asked not to be named in order to protect her identify from the spouses of victims she is now working with.

“I don’t understand why they would let him out on $1,500,” the advocate said. “Anyone could come up with that amount. There is something the matter with the system.”

Not enough was done to protect Gau’s family, said Michael Runner of the Family Violence Prevention Fund, a national victim advocacy group. Runner directs a program that teaches state judges how to better protect victims.

Judges must begin to set bail in such cases at higher levels to make it more difficult for the accused to be released, allowing them to potentially harm the victim, Runner said. Judges can also sometimes automatically impose a protective order on victims requiring the accused to stay away, a practice which should become standard nationwide, Runner said.

But even a protective order is just “a piece of paper” and any protection provided depends on “whether it is enforced,” he said.

Anytime the accused has attempted to hire a hit man and then been released after arrest, “the victim is in danger,” he said, noting the time when a victim separates from an abuser is typically the most dangerous time for the victim.

On Thursday afternoon, word of Gau’s arrest was slowly spreading through the neighborhood where the couple had lived for more than a decade. Several neighbors said they had not known of the arrest.

Chad Hendry, who lives a block from the Gaus, said the family’s home had been up for sale because the couple was reconciling and were going to move to Reno. Jim Gau was reportedly a skilled auto mechanic and often helped neighbors with minor car repairs.

The couple were together in their LDS ward at church on Sunday and Jim Gau had his arm around his wife, Hendry said.

“They were there smiling,” he said. “You never know what is going on behind the front door.”

Victims seeking help may call the Women & Children in Crisis shelter at 377-5500.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.