LOGAN — A 19-year-old Hyrum man has been arrested for allegedly sharing child pornography through several social media apps and other websites, according to law enforcement. Shayde David Kerr was booked Wednesday into the Cache County Jail after deputies obtained a warrant for his arrest.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, Cache County Sheriff’s deputies received four cyber-tips in August, alleging an individual was sharing images of child sexual abuse material online. The information was forwarded to local law enforcement by the Utah Office of the Attorney General.
The tips were submitted by Discord, Snapchat and two from Google. All three companies had detected a user saving child pornography on their servers.
Deputies obtained a warrant to search the accounts. They found 12 pictures of minors. The photos showed various girls, some as young as 8 or 9-years-old, being exploited or sexually abused.
Law enforcement obtained the usernames and email addresses for the various accounts, and found they were all registered to Kerr. The IP address was also tracked to the suspect’s residence.
On Dec. 4, Kerr was observed leaving his home and stopped while traveling toward Logan. He was taken into custody for questioning but invoked his right to an attorney and did not answer any questions.
Deputies obtained a warrant to search Kerr’s bedroom, taking two computers and other miscellaneous electronics as evidence.
Kerr was arraigned Friday in Logan’s 1st District Court, appearing by web conference from jail. He was charged with 10 counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, a first-degree felony.
Judge Spencer Walsh ordered Kerr, who said his father had hired an attorney for him, to remain in jail temporarily and appear again in court Dec. 10.
Individuals arrested and charged in complaints are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.