22-year-old charged with possession of child porn

22-year-old charged with possession of child porn

(Salt Lake County)


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SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake man who told police he wanted to be a pediatrician and had been volunteering at Primary Children's Medical Center was booked into jail over the weekend on child pornography charges.

An arrest warrant for Joshua Nelson Burton, 22, was issued Sept. 20 for 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony. He was booked into jail Sunday and posted $15,000 bond, according to court records.

The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force served a search warrant on Burton's home in December of 2012. Burton told investigators he had been addicted to child pornography before leaving for his LDS mission, according to charging documents.

Investigators say Burton told his father about his pornography problem prior to his mission, which led to him talking with his bishop. "He said he had never attended any treatment for his addiction to child pornography," prosecutors wrote.

He got rid of all his child pornography prior to his mission and said he didn't view any during his mission. But about September or October of 2012, after he had returned, "he said that curiosity got the better of him," court records state. "Burton felt as if he had slipped up again."


At the time of the investigation, Burton said he "wanted to be a pediatrician and was volunteering at Primary Children's Hospital."

In July of 2013, results of analyzing Burton's computers were returned to investigators. Approximately 500 images and 34 videos were allegedly found on his laptop. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children identified children in 109 of the images, according to court documents.

Burton told investigators at the time of the search warrant that he was going to school, "wanted to be a pediatrician and was volunteering at Primary Children's Hospital," according to charging documents.

A spokeswoman for the hospital confirmed Monday that Burton did volunteer for Primary Children's at one point but was no longer a volunteer there. The hospital wasn't sure Monday exactly what Burton's duties were or if he had much contact with children, but noted that all volunteers undergo background checks and are monitored by staff even after they're hired.

Court records show that Burton has no other criminal history in Utah.

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