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SALT LAKE CITY — A Riverton man who was found in possession of hundreds of child pornography photos was sentenced Thursday to one year in jail and four years of probation.
Jason Andrew Lytton, 41, pleaded guilty on Sept. 9 to sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony, and two counts of voyeurism, a class A misdemeanor, admitting to possessing pictures of nude minor females and to secretly taking photographs and videos of a minor without consent.
When Lytton was initially arrested, it was for investigation of 100 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, but when the charges were filed they were limited to 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor along with the voyeurism charges and a charge of obstruction of justice.
Charging documents said officers found over 1,000 images of prepubescent girls between 8 and 15 years old in Lytton's possession. The images were found after he gave another person access to his iCloud account to help him set up a Venmo account.
Third District Judge Amber M. Mettler sentenced Lytton to one year in jail for the voyeurism charges, both sentences running concurrently. For the sexual exploitation of a minor charge, she sentenced him to between one and 15 years in prison, but suspended that sentence as long as he successfully completes four years of probation. She also ordered that he comply with sex offender conditions and not have any internet access except for what is specifically approved.
Mettler said child pornography is "a horrible thing" that victimizes young people and the voyeurism charges in this case are "really serious" and warrant punishment. She said plea agreements should be respected as much as possible by the court, including an agreement from the attorneys in this case that they would not recommend prison, but she warned that if he doesn't take probation seriously and the terms are not met, the prison sentence would be imposed.
Deputy district attorney Samuel Sutton said although there is no evidence that there was any "hands-on" activities by Lytton, he believes the behavior could have been leading toward that, which would have made this case much more serious.
Lytton's attorney, Michael Peterson, asked for probation for his client, and said Lytton is sorrowful and remorseful for his actions and has taken full responsibility. Peterson said his client is in a situation where community-based sex offender treatment would be appropriate because he has a lot of family support and has maintained employment.
"In every way, Judge, he has taken accountability, has stepped up," Peterson said.
Lytton addressed the judge and said he was sorry for the pain and hurt he had caused.
"I've hurt so many friends and family with my actions. I know words are not remotely enough in this situation, the only way is to show it through my actions the rest of my life. I want you to know I hold myself 100% accountable for my actions. This whole situation is my fault and my fault alone," he said.
He spoke about what he has done since he got out of jail, becoming involved in a church, recovery programs and addiction courses. He said he has learned it's not too late to change and he wants to make sure nothing similar happens again.
"I'm grateful to all that have shown me love and compassion, and shown me that this isn't the end of my story, and this doesn't have to define me the rest of my life," Lytton said.
