SALT LAKE CITY – Cache County officials played a big role in passing a new law targeting child pornographers in the waning days of current session of the Utah Legislature.
Senate Bill 167 Sexual Exploitation Amendments, introduced by Sen. Chris Wilson (R-Logan), increases penalties for producers and distributors of child pornography, making that crime a first-degree felony.
In addition to increasing penalties for exploitation, the bill passed by the Utah House on Mar. 2 also directs the state’s sentencing commission to study penalties associated with child exploitation and make recommendations for additional action to be taken at the next legislative session.
While awaiting Gov. Spencer Cox’ signature on S.B. 167, Wilson called the bill a victory for “private citizens, lawmakers, stakeholders, law enforcement and government agencies.”
“The increasing demand for child pornography is alarming,” Wilson explained. “That surge in the illegal market has led to increased victimization of and sexual violence against innocent children.”
The senator adds that those victims of exploitation are then often revictimized by continued distribution of that material.
The motivation for S.B. 167 can be found in a recent child porn investigation in Cache County, according to County Executive David Zook.
When a joint effort by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security and Cache County prosecutors apprehended a predator here, the convicted perpetrator received only a 60-day jail sentence.
The problem, according to Wilson, is that Utah laws currently view the producers and distributors of child porn as having committed the same offense as viewers of that material, namely a second-degree felony. Conviction on that offense often leads to a sentence averaging only 180 days.
After conferring with a law enforcement expert from Oklahoma that the Malouf Foundation brought to Cache Valley, Zook said local officials realized that Utah needed to tighten its laws regarding child pornography.
“I would like to thank Sen. Wilson for running this bill,” Zook emphasized. “It took him no more than two seconds to agree to introduce this legislation … and then he made his Number One priority.”
Zook also credited Cache County Attorney John Luthy along with prosecutors Jacob Gordon and Dane Murray with drafting S.B. 167 and providing “heart-wrenching” testimony before the Legislature.
“In addition to our local prosecutors,” Zook emphasized, “staff from Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes’ office were also instrumental in making this legislation happen.’
Wilson added that the final version of his bill approved by the Utah House and Senate will single out producers and distributors of child pornography for first-degree felony prosecution, hopefully reducing the supply of that hateful material at its source.
“The horrors of child exploitation are things that my office deals with every day,” Reyes explained. “I applaud this bill to help fight these horrendous crimes with stronger laws.
“The reality is that child pornography, exploitation and abuse are getting worse every year and COVID-19 has only intensified that threat. S.B. 167 will provide a valuable legal tool to hold perpetrators more accountable.”
S.B. 167 Sexual Exploitation Amendments is expected to the signed by Gov. Cox in the near future.