Utah charter school director arrested, accused of distributing child sexual abuse material online

LAYTON — The director of an elementary charter school in Layton was arrested and booked on charges Tuesday, accusing him of owning child sexual abuse material and exploiting children, according to court documents. Law enforcement officials in New York began the investigation when they encountered multiple sexually explicit videos of young girls, estimated to be approximately 8 years of age. The New York officials sought help from officers in Utah to identify the suspect who owned the footage and had been selling and distributing it online. Utah officials were able to identify the owner of the device linked to the footage, which was a cellular phone belonging to Jared Dallan Buckley, 40. Buckley worked as the lead director of the Layton campus of Leadership Learning Academy, according to the school's website. The affidavit also said Buckley "appears to be involved with various local youth sports organizations." The school's biography of Buckley said he had been with the school since 2014, and had received a bachelor's degree from Weber State in special education. He then received a master's degree in educational leadership. "Preliminary information, collected by investigators who received this material, also suggests that the suspect could be involved in the production of child sexual abuse material involving children outside of the United States," the affidavit said. On Tuesday, a search warrant granted officers access to search Buckley, his home and his car. The device in question was found in his possession, according to the affidavit, and officers confirmed it had multiple files of child sexual abuse material on it. The document noted that Buckley's efforts to conceal his online activities prevented investigators from positively identifying him until just days before his arrest. Buckley was booked on two first-degree felony charges of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor for the footage found in October of 2024. He also faces another second-degree felony charge of sexual exploitation of a minor for another offense on his arrest date. KSL TV contacted the school on Wednesday; the school declined to comment.

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