CEDAR CITY — A 24-year-old Enoch resident has been sentenced to up to 45 years in prison for possessing child pornography.
Triston Cree Rivera had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and was sentenced by 5th District Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen, who imposed a term of one to 15 years in prison for each of the second-degree felony counts and ordered that they be served consecutively.
The charges against Rivera stem from an investigation in April 2020, when Enoch Police officers, acting on a warrant, seized Rivera’s phone during the course of a fraud case.
When the contents of the phone were searched, investigators reportedly found several images and videos depicting young children being sexually abused.
During Rivera’s sentencing on Dec. 30, Iron County Attorney Chad Dotson described the videos and images in question as being “horrific, depraved and heartbreaking.”
Dotson said the fact that the sentences will run consecutively means Rivera will spend at least three years and potentially as long as 45 years in prison.
“Given Utah’s indeterminate sentencing guidelines, the Utah Board of Pardons will ultimately determine how long he will serve,” Dotson wrote in a statement posted to the Iron County Attorney’s Office Facebook page earlier this week.
Dotson also expressed appreciation to the Enoch Police Department and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for their work on the case.
Rivera had originally faced five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, but two of the charges were dropped as part of a plea agreement. He pleaded guilty on Oct. 12, 2021.
In a separate case involving Rivera, the court also imposed a sentence of up to five years in prison for drug possession, a third-degree felony, and said that sentence was also to be served consecutively to the other three terms.
Rivera also received additional sentences for drug possession and fraud, but those terms will run concurrently, the judge decided.
The court also waived more than $57,000 in fines and fees associated with the charges.
Rivera was subsequently transferred to the Utah State Prison to begin his sentence.
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