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ST. GEORGE — A Hurricane man facing multiple felony sexual exploitation charges appeared last week for sentencing following an investigation into allegations he had been sharing sexually explicit images of a child and admitting to sexually abusive acts.
On May 9, the defendant, Benjamin Carl Stewart, 43, appeared in 5th District Court for sentencing on two counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of sexual exploitation of a minor. These three charges were reduced from second-degree felonies to third-degree felonies as part of a stipulated plea agreement between the parties.
The hearing was presided over by District Judge Keith C. Barnes. The state was represented by prosecutor Grace Deist, and Stewart was represented by defense attorney Marshall Witt.
The case was filed following an investigation that opened Feb. 21, when the Washington County Sheriff's Office received a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's Cyber tipline that an internet user on Kik.com, an online chat platform, admitted to sexually abusing an underaged youth of whom he then shared photos, according to charging documents filed at the time of the arrest.
