Salt Lake County man booked on 10 felony child exploitation charges

Roberto Lopez Hernandez. Photo: Salt Lake County

Feb. 29, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — A Salt Lake County man was booked into jail after his arrest on suspicion of 10 felonies.

Roberto Lopez Hernandez, 20, was booked on identical counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony.

According to the probable cause statement, the gamers’ app Discord filed a CyberTipline report with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) last year regarding one of its users uploading child pornography images to a Discord account.

NCMEC determined the offense occurred in Utah, and forwarded the tip to Utah Attorney General’s Office ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) Task Force. The report included an email address and username and ID.

ICAC officials reviewed 13 provided images, then asked a judge to provide an order for CenturyLink to provide subscriber information.

On Feb. 25, officials with the ICAC task force executed a residential search warrant for Hernandez’ residence, in the Salt Lake City area, the statement says.

“I interview the subscriber identified as Roberto Lopez Hernandez who is a 20-year-old male living at the residence,” the probable cause statement says.

“Post-Miranda warning, Mr. Hernandez stated that he does download pornography and search on Safari on his phone. As I started asked other questions regarding him downloading child pornography, he invoked his right to remain silent and all questions stopped.”

More than 100 child pornography images were found on Hernandez’s iPhone, the statement says. Images include those of an adult male abusing a female toddler. Additional images featured children under the age of 5 being abused.

“Mr. Hernandez babysits children around the age of the children” seen being victimized on his phone, the statement says.”

Hernandez was booked into jail on Wednesday. His bail was set at $250,000.

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