Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WEST JORDAN — A registered sex offender who was recently being considered for early release from probation has been arrested again and accused of new child pornography crimes.
Andrew Craig Petersen, 32, of West Jordan, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on Thursday and charged on Friday in 3rd District Court with 10 counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a child, a first-degree felony; and 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony.
Investigators from the Utah Internet Crimes Against Children task force were notified that Petersen was uploading suspected child pornography — including videos and images that he created — from a cellphone to a Google account, according to a police booking affidavit. Google reported the suspected pornography to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Investigators said they traced the Google account and the phone number associated with it to Petersen. During one of Petersen's recent check-ins with Adult Probation and Parole, police investigating the new allegations seized his phone and discovered suspected child pornography, according to the affidavit,
"Andrew Petersen is currently on probation for the offense of sexual exploitation of a minor. There is substantial evidence to show he has committed new offenses to include production of child pornography," the affidavit alleges.
According to court records, Petersen was charged in 2018 with 35 felonies, including sexual exploitation of a minor, forgery and violation of a protective order. He pleaded guilty in 2019 to a reduced count of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, in addition to forgery and violating a protective order. He was given credit for the time he was in jail following his arrest, which was more than a year, and was placed on four years of probation.
Petersen was also required to register with the Utah Sex Offender and Kidnap Registry.
In May, Adult Probation and Parole recommended early termination of Petersen's parole, noting that he had successfully completed his court-ordered treatment, according to court records. He was determined to be at low risk to reoffend. The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office objected to the request. On June 6, a judge agreed to convert Petersen's probation from being supervised by Adult Probation and Parole to the court.
