FARMINGTON, Utah, Nov. 7, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A Layton man has been charged with multiple counts of exploitation of a minor after his alleged purchase of illegal images of children.
Investigator say that Taylor M. Anderson, 25, used Bitcoin to purchase child pornography from the Dark Web. Anderson now faces eight counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony.
The investigation began in April of this year when a Homeland Security cyber group identified online accounts associated with the purchase of illegal images. Anderson was among the suspects identified.
A search warrant was issued for Anderson’s residence. It was served by members of the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force, the statement says.
Two cell phones were located in Anderson’s bedroom.
“Both phones appeared to have an application which contained password-protected encrypted images and videos,” the probable cause statement says.
“Subject Anderson had voluntarily given the swipe code to these phones and the encrypted app post Miranda during his subject interview.
“Subject Anderson also admitted to purchasing child pornography materials on the Dark Web using Bitcoin back in April of 2019, post Miranda. During forensic preview of these phones, task force officers located hundreds of images and videos containing child pornography.”
Anderson’s bail was set at $80,000. The date of his first court appearance is not yet posted in online court records.
