Former teacher, Boy Scout leader arrested in child porn case


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SOUTH OGDEN — A veteran junior high school teacher and former Boy Scout leader has been arrested for investigation of child pornography.

Now police need the public's help finding the man's alleged victims.

Kenneth Prince, 61, was arrested Tuesday for investigation of five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.

Earlier this month, South Ogden police were contacted by a man who claimed that he was sexually abused by Prince more than a decade ago, said South Ogden Police Chief Darin Parke.

"We began an investigation and on (Sept. 19) we obtained a search warrant for Kenneth Prince's home. During that search we found sexually explicit images of minors on his computers," he said.

Three computers were seized. The arrest was based on five sexually explicit photographs of five young boys, all under 18, Parke said. The boys had not been identified as of Tuesday. Police do not know who took the photographs.

"We think a lot of these people are not adults," Parke said. "There may also still be juvenile victims still out there, and we would really like to talk to them."

In each picture, the boys appear to be aware that a photograph was being taken, as opposed to a hidden camera, Parke said. Investigators could not tell if any of the pictures were taken in a school or Scouting setting.

It was unknown Wednesday whether the alleged victims were former students or Boy Scouts. Prince taught at South Ogden Junior High from 1979 until his retirement in 2008 and was a "longtime" Scout leader in the South Ogden area, the chief said.

"Based on the allegations and the evidence we have at this time, we feel there are other victims that have yet to come forward and we would ask that they come forward to help us get a clear picture of what he's been up to," Parke said.

South Ogden police request for anyone with information on Kenneth Prince:
Anyone with information on Prince, or any possible victims, is asked to call police at 801-629-8221 and ask for a South Ogden officer.

The Weber School District on Wednesday had little information to add, but officials said they would be cooperating fully with the police investigation.

Utah court records show Prince was arrested for obscene acts in 2008 by Salt Lake police. Prince took a plea in abeyance, pleading guilty in June of 2008, and the case was dismissed in 2010.

On Monday, a family member filed a protective order against Prince in 2nd District Court in Ogden. Police listed Prince as currently being a Uintah, Weber County, resident.

A former student said she was surprised by the allegations against Prince.

"I'm surprised," said Whitney Gines. "I liked him as a teacher. He really loved science and he helped other people love science."

Anyone with information on Prince, or any possible victims, is asked to call police at 801-629-8221 and ask for a South Ogden officer.

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Pat Reavy and Sandra Yi

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