Man awaiting sentencing for child porn faces new solicitation charge

Man awaiting sentencing for child porn faces new solicitation charge

(Salt Lake County Jail)


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SALT LAKE CITY — A man awaiting sentencing for possession of child pornography now faces new charges of soliciting a 13-year-old girl.

Brandon Jacob Hibbard, 24, of Midvale, was charged Thursday in 3rd District Court with solicited rape of a child, a first-degree felony, and enticing a minor, a third-degree felony.

On July 14, Hibbard pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony. In exchange for his plea, 12 other similar counts were dismissed. He is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 22 and was released until the sentencing date.

But less than a week after pleading guilty, the Utah Attorney General's Office filed a motion asking that his pretrial release be revoked. According to charging documents filed Thursday, Hibbard texted the 13-year-old daughter of a friend on April 17 and asked her to send him a naked picture.

The girl, apparently thinking it was a joke, sent a text saying she was "way underage," but also asked for money, the charges state. Hibbard then called the girl's father, even though it was nearly midnight, and asked if he could come over and take the girl to a local store.

While in the car, Hibbard offered the girl $600 to have sex with him and $250 for a naked picture, according to the charges.

The girl declined several times, replying at one point, "You're disgusting. I'm way underage," charging documents state. When Hibbard took her home, he gave her $250, apparently hoping she'd change her mind and send a picture later, the charges state. He later allegedly sent another text message apologizing and told her to keep the money.

Because of his prior conviction, prosecutors have asked for a no bail warrant. Hibbard was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail over the weekend.

He was also convicted of sexual abuse of a minor, a class A misdemeanor, for inappropriately touching a 14-year-old girl in 2011 when he was 19, according to court records.

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Pat Reavy

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