SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Dec. 19, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office has announced a second-degree felony charge filed against Val Whitehead, a former school bus driver, for sexual exploitation of a minor.
The arrest of Whitehead, 69, followed months of investigation after a cyber tip was assigned to a Unified Police detective who is a member of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
“That tip showed that a Microsoft user searched for child sexual assault material (CSAM) on June 23, 2024,” a news release from the SLCo DA’s Office says.
“The image showed sexual activity with a female child between the ages of 6 and 8. Investigators discovered the IP address for the search came from the defendant’s home in Midvale. A warrant for that IP address responded to the defendant as the subscriber. A search of the home led investigators to find a laptop behind a refrigerator in the defendant’s shed.”
Family members confirmed that the defendant was the only person with access to the shed, the news release says.
“He kept it locked and carried the keys with him. If anyone wanted to enter, they had to knock, as the defendant kept the shed locked even when he was inside.
“The defendant is charged with one count of second-degree felony exploitation of a minor. However, the investigation into the defendant is ongoing. A forensic download of the defendant’s devices is underway.”
More charges will be filed if warranted, the release says. Whitehead was a school bus driver at the time of his arrest, but has since been dismissed.
“We appreciate the exhaustive investigation that helped lead to the filing of this charge,” a statement from Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill says.
“As this investigation is ongoing, we expect prosecutors to get a better understanding of the activities that the defendant was engaged with to ensure he is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. All persons accused of wrongdoing are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.”
