RIVERTON, Utah, Nov. 21, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — A 28-year-old Salt Lake County man has been taken into custody after investigators say he communicated with 15-year-old girls, asking them to have sex with him and offering them $70,000 to bear his baby.
Steven Eric Graham was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on Wednesday, according to institutional records.
Graham was booked on:
- Three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony
- Enticing a minor, a second-degree felony
- Sexual battery, a class A misdemeanor
Graham’s initial appearance before a judge is scheduled for Nov. 30.
Case background
On Sept. 7, officers learned that a suspect, later identified as Graham, had been texting a man, Coleman Butterfield, whom Graham believed was a 15-year-old girl.
“Graham made arrangements to meet with the 15-year-old to have sex in return for $70,000,” a probable cause statement says. “A few days previous, Graham had left a note on a vehicle parked in front of a residence in Riverton. Four juvenile girls had been in the vehicle previous to it being parked.
“The note offered $70,000 if one of the girls would have a baby, and provided a phone number to contact Graham. Coleman was concerned about the risk Graham posed to young girls in the neighborhood.”
In a text between Graham and Coleman (posing as a teen), Graham made statements concerning how to make sex less painful for the 15-year-old girl, and Graham made plans to take care of the 15-year-old girl if she became pregnant, the probable cause statement says.
“Graham made arrangements to meet up with the 15 year old at McDonalds in Herriman, provided a description of the clothing he would be wearing, and sent a photograph of himself that was later identified as Graham,” the statement says. “Graham went to the McDonalds at the arranged time.
“In an interview with police, Graham admitted putting the note on the car to solicit sex. Graham also admitted he went to McDonalds with the intent of having sex with a 15-year-old girl. Graham also admitted he made out with a 16-year-old girl … he met at work.”
Officers interviewed the girl, who said Graham had offered to walk her to her car one dark night in the summer of 2018, and he had made advances on her, kissing her and touching her over her clothing without her consent. She told police she was able to push Graham away.
Graham also told police he had exchanged photographs of a sexual nature over text with several 15-year-old girls over a variety of apps, the probable statement says. Graham also told police he had about seven images of child pornography saved in his Dropbox account, the statement says.
Officers checked the Dropbox account, and found images of what appeared to be under-age females, two of them fully unclothed and posed with their legs spread apart. A short video showed a woman performing an illegal act on a small child.
Police also located conversations between Graham and several mothers who accused him of sending “filth” to her daughters’ phones, the statement says.
“Graham’s response (to the mothers) was that it wasn’t against the law, or he responded that the number was going to be deleted, and they would not be able to find him.”
Bail in Graham’s case has been set at $250,000.
