ST. GEORGE — Police arrested a local man on Tuesday after more than 100 images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children reportedly were found on his computer.
The charges were submitted to the Washington County Attorney’s Office for review following a joint investigation by the St. George Police Department and the Department of Homeland Security that began in December when authorities received “indicators” that Joseph Palmer was distributing videos depicting the sexual abuse of children from his St. George residence.
St. George Police Officer Tiffany Mitchell told St. George News the information originated from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and was sent to the St. George Police Department for follow-up.
Armed with a warrant, agents and officers conducted a search of the suspect’s home located off of Indian Hills Drive in St. George on Tuesday, which is when they found a computer that contained “in excess of 100 child pornography images/videos,” the investigator noted in the report.
The images recovered depicted the sexual abuse of girls, who were between 10 and 13 years old, according to the report.
During an interview with police, Palmer allegedly admitted to downloading or posting “at least child pornography images and or videos,” and shortly thereafter, the suspect was transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and booked into jail facing 15 second-degree felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.
The officer then requested the defendant be held without bail based on the evidence supporting the felony charge, and also cited that Palmer poses a substantial danger to the community and is a flight risk. The order was signed by District Judge John J. Walton on Wednesday morning and Palmer remains in custody at the time of this report.
Washington County Attorney Ryan Shaum said that while the probable cause statement indicates the suspect was possibly distributing the images, he said the charges under review are for possession of the images.
Utah Attorney General’s Office’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force
The ICAC Task Force is a multi-jurisdictional task force that investigates and prosecutes individuals who use the internet to exploit children. Information is typically forwarded to Task Force from the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and if it is an internet or computer crime, then the file is then sent to one of the many ICAC affiliates in Washington and Iron Counties.
The Utah Attorney General launched ICAC in 2000, as one of more than 60 ICAC task forces in the country, and since so many internet crimes against children cross state lines, more than 180 local, state and federal officers, investigators and prosecutors throughout the state work closely together.
Last year, their CyberTipline received more than 29.3 million reports of child sex trafficking or online enticement of children — nearly double the number of reports received in 2019 — which was 16 million.
In addition to investigators and prosecutors, the Utah Attorney General’s office employs a full-time Education Specialist and sponsors the Digital Respons-Ability program to educate children, parents and the community on internet safety.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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