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SALT LAKE CITY — An employee of a business in Riverdale called police after seeing the same person sitting in a parked car outside for two days in a row in April.
Officers approached the vehicle and identified the driver as Scott Andrew Clark, who admitted he was a registered sex offender, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Clark, 44, also admitted he had child pornography in his possession.
A forensic analysis conducted by the Weber County Sheriff’s Office revealed pornographic images and videos on two of the six devices in Clark’s car.
A criminal complaint filed in federal court alleges that there were more than 5,000 images and 200 videos of child pornography recovered on the devices, including images of infants and other children.
The case against Clark, who has a 2003 state court conviction in Utah for attempted sexual abuse of a minor, is one of several federal prosecutors filed in April, noting the coronavirus shutdown has not stopped child exploitation.
While many Utahns have spent the last two months staying home as a result of COVID-19, online predators continue to threaten the safety of children in the state and around the country, federal authorities say.
The FBI issued a caution about the coming risk in March.
“Due to school closings as a result of COVID-19, children will potentially have an increased online presence and/or be in a position that puts them at an inadvertent risk. Due to this newly developing environment, the FBI is seeking to warn parents, educators, caregivers and children about the dangers of online sexual exploitation and signs of child abuse,” an FBI press release stated.
John Huber, the U.S. Attorney in Utah, said with families at home together, authorities may expect that the threat of child sexual exploitation would diminish.
“Unfortunately, that does not appear to be the case,” he said.
Huber said it’s important for parents to remain vigilant in protecting their children from sexual predators.
“I can also assure parents, who are feeling the strain in many areas, that my office and our law enforcement partners are working as aggressively as ever to target these criminals and keep them away from our children,” he said.
“Stranger danger” applies online because predators will misrepresent themselves to gain a child’s trust, said Paul Haertel, FBI special agent in charge in Salt Lake City.
“When a child is sexually exploited, there can be lifelong consequences, but the crime is preventable,” he said. “The FBI will do our part to go after those who hurt society’s most vulnerable, and we urge parents and caregivers to do their part too through education and awareness.”
