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SALT LAKE CITY — A former Utah state lawmaker convicted in federal court of having child pornography has been arrested again and accused of a similar crime.
Jeffrey Vern Fox, 74, of Salt Lake City, was arrested Tuesday by the Internet Crimes Against Children task force and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of eight counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.
The investigation began in July when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received reports that "multiple files of apparent child pornography were uploaded to one of their user accounts." Investigators then learned that at least one of the accounts was registered to Fox, according to a police booking affidavit.
"I also found that he is currently a registered sex offender who was convicted federally for possession of child pornography. In 2013, Fox was placed on federal probation for 15 years. In 2019, his probation was terminated early for completing the terms of his sentence," the affidavit states. Fox was also convicted in 2013 of federal marijuana charges.
As part of their new investigation, task force agents determined that Fox "was in possession of, and distributed the same types of files as in his previous conviction," according to the affidavit.
Fox was a longtime advocate for the homeless who served as director for both Utahns Against Hunger and the Crossroads Urban Center. He was also a state legislator for one term in the late 1970s through the early 1980s.
