LOGAN — Child pornography charges have been dropped against a 36-year-old Smithfield man previously convicted of breaking into the Logan Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The case for Peter A. Ambrose was dismissed Monday by prosecutors.

Ambrose participated in a virtual hearing in 1st District Court Monday morning, appearing by web conference from the Cache County Jail. He had previously been charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony.

Cache County Deputy Attorney Griffin Hazard asked the court to dismiss the case, based on evidentiary grounds. He didn’t provide any further details.

Smithfield City police officers began investigating Ambrose last year for allegedly sharing child pornography on a social media group. During a search of his phone, police reported that they located a graphic video of a young girl.

During a preliminary hearing in January, defense attorney Joseph Saxton argued that even though Ambrose was a member of the group, he had never viewed the file. He pointed to evidence that showed the message was never opened until police found it on the phone.

Ambrose had told the court he was innocent during several previous hearings.

The case was scheduled for a three day jury trial in May.

During Monday’s hearing, Judge Angela Fonnesbeck said she would follow prosecutor’s request to dismiss the case.

On December 24, 2019 Ambrose was arrested after police found him locked inside a room on the main floor of the temple. He had used a ladder to climb over the building’s exterior fence, breaking the glass doors with an ax and gaining entry into the building.

Once inside, Ambrose damaged paintings, tore down curtains and used the ax to shatter a mirror. A fire extinguisher was also sprayed over furniture and the floors.

Ambrose later accepted a plea deal pleading guilty to several amended charges. He claimed how he was angry about some “personal problems,” at the time the crime occurred. He was later sentenced to three-years of probation and ordered to pay $3,600 to the Church in restitution.

In June, Ambrose was sentenced to 30-days in jail for harassing his estranged-wife in another case. He had previously been ordered to have no contact with the victim.

In March, he disregarded the court order and texted the woman, attempting to ask her out on a date. He later blamed his behavior on an “act of loneliness” that had been “blown way out of proportion.”


will@cvradio.com







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