KAYSVILLE, Utah, July 7, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — A Kaysville man was arrested Monday after he allegedly contacted more than 100 children on social media to ask for sexually explicit images and videos.
A probable cause statement from the 2nd District Court of Farmington said Aaron Joseph Vodden, 22, is facing eight counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony.
On or about May 30, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children generated a report on behalf of Twitter, the statement said. The report provided included one image that depicted a prepubescent female, while others showed animated images of newborns and toddlers, all in a sexually explicit manner.
“Twitter, Inc. also provided direct message conversation between the suspect account and other suspect accounts,” the statement said. “The dialogue includes asking for trades, or a term of exchanging images/videos of child sexual abuse material, the context of the conversation is specific for underage.”
The IP address associated with the CyberTipline report traced back to a residence in Kaysville, the statement said. Between June 29 and July 1, investigators conducted surveillance at that the residence associated with the IP address. Investigators also determined the one occupant of the home was Vodden.
On July 6, investigators with the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force executed a search warrant at the residence.
Vodden was interviewed, and after being read his Miranda rights, “he admitted to operating the associated Twitter account,” the statement said. He allegedly admitted to viewing images or videos of children as young as toddler age, and further admitted that he had utilized popular social media applications to exchange images and videos of child sexual abuse. He also allegedly admitted to engaging in conversations with children as young as 12, where he would send sexual images and coerce sexual images and videos in return. He said that he has engaged in live chats with these victims. Vodden said that he has done this with over 100 children, the statement said.
Vodden lives in close proximity to an elementary school and a junior high school, the statement said.
The suspect was transported to Davis County Jail, where he is being held without bail.
