Boyd Clayne Wiser booking photo from the Cache County Jail.
LOGAN — A 59-year-old Hyrum man is headed to prison for numerous child pornography, firearm and drug crimes. Boyd Clayne Wiser was placed in handcuffs and taken into custody to begin his sentence, after a judge repeatedly noted the tens of thousands of child porn files found by law enforcement.
Wiser was sentenced Monday, Mar. 11, in Logan’s 1st District Court. He previously had pleaded guilty to ten counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony; possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute and possession of a firearm by a restricted person, both third-degree felonies.
North Park Police officers began investigating Wiser after a North Logan manufacturing company reported finding inappropriate images of a young girl in a sexual position on his computer. A manager at the company discovered the pictures while transferring files from the defendant’s computer to an external hard drive.
The manager told officers that Wiser was the only person who had access to the computer. The files had been encrypted with a “very difficult password,” charging documents stated.
The computer was turned over to a forensics laboratory for analysis. Lab technicians later reported finding “over 400 images that appeared to be child erotica or related to child pornography,” according to law enforcement’s arrest affidavit.
On Feb. 24, 2023, agents with the Cache Rich Drug Task Force executed a warrant to Wiser’s residence. Inside they found cocaine, seven firearms and other illegal substances. They also located thousands of other images and videos of child sexual abuse material on electronic devices.
During Monday’s sentencing, defense attorney Shannon Demler asked the court for a lenient sentence for Wiser. He said his client had no criminal record and was a “well respected individual in the community, who had done something inappropriate.”
Cache County Deputy Attorney Ronnie Keller said Wiser deserved to be sentenced to prison. He called the amount of child pornography found on the defendant’s computers “egregious.”
During a brief remark, Wiser told the court, further jail time would be detrimental to him. He went on explain how being incarcerated would be difficult because of several health conditions. Before finishing, he expressed regret for his actions.
Judge Spencer Walsh said he questioned whether Wiser was being truthful. He noted how the defendant was found in possession of tens of thousands of child pornography files but claimed to not be attracted to children. He said the descriptions of the material found was “horrible and beyond the pale.”
Wiser was sentenced to two terms of one-to-15-years and one term of zero-to-five-years at the Utah State Correctional Facility. The sentences will run consecutively, meaning it will likely be at least two years before he is eligible for parole.
Judge Walsh explained the prison sentence was justified due to the gravity of the offences, number of child victims, and Wiser’s lack of accountability. He said, “The court needs to send a message that there needs to be serious consequences for this type of behavior.”