Provo man sentenced after police said he distributed child pornography

PROVO — A Provo man accused of collecting and distributing child pornography will be spending time in jail and on probation.

Jacob Bunker, 26, pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony, and was sentenced on July 29 to one to 15 years in prison. Fourth District Judge Roger Griffin suspended that sentence and instead ordered him to serve 300 days in jail, with credit for the 250 days he already served, and be on probation for four years.

Bunker was charged in November after the FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking task force arrested another man and found social media chats between that man and Bunker. Charging documents said those chats included him saying he wanted to sexually abuse a preschool classroom and would like a calling in his church overseeing young children.

Charging documents also accused him of sending "what appears to be a self-produced video of child sexual abuse material," and establishing a social media group chat where he and others discussed sexual interest in children.

After being arrested, charges said Bunker admitted to using social media to talk to others and make arrangements to sexually abuse children, but said he would then delete the account. He said he had never abused a child.

While on probation, the judge ordered Bunker to not contact children, obtain full-time employment, complete a psychosexual evaluation and follow anything it recommends, stay away from online dating sites and have no active dating profiles, provide all usernames and passwords to Adult Probation and Parole on request and not use any alcohol or recreational marijuana.

Multiple family members and friends submitted letters for the judge to read before issuing his sentence in support of Bunker — including his parents, siblings and fiancée — each saying they support him and will help him follow the court's requests.

His father said he knows Bunker "in ways that a court file cannot show" and it has been hard to reconcile what he knows from years of raising his son with the charges.

"I am not asking the court to pretend that Jacob's choices were not serious. I am asking the court to consider that Jacob is not beyond help, not beyond change, and not beyond becoming a responsible and contributing person," Jeff Bunker said.

He pointed out progress Jacob Bunker made while in jail and asked for an opportunity for him to rebuild his life.

Jacob Bunker accepted a plea deal on June 10 that reduced the charge he pleaded guilty to from aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, a first-degree felony, and dismissed three charges for enticing a minor, a second-degree felony.

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