ST. GEORGE — A Hurricane man was arrested and booked into jail on felony sexual exploitation of a child after internet crime task force agents reportedly found images depicting the sexual abuse of children, along with a child-like sex doll — the second such arrest this week.
Christopher Vaughan Clare, 38, was arrested Thursday and booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility facing one second-degree felony count of sexual exploitation of a minor.
Clare also was charged with one count of a class A misdemeanor of possession of a child sex doll, a charge that resulted from the recent passage of HB 108. The Utah Legislature this past session approved the bill, which prohibits the possession, purchase or distribution of sex dolls made to look like minors or children.
Clare is the second suspect to be booked into jail on the offense since Wednesday.
James Edgar Conner, 41, of St. George, faces 10 second-degree felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and three misdemeanor counts of voyeurism by electronic equipment, concealed or disguised. Additionally, Conner was charged with one count of a class A misdemeanor of possession of a child sex doll.
Clare’s arrest stems from an investigation by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, headed by the Utah Attorney General’s Office, and includes officers throughout Washington County, including Washington County Sheriff’s detectives. The investigation involved child sexual abuse material being distributed online, which is when agents noted a particular file type that was of specific interest to the investigation.
Following a series of search warrants, agents obtained information that led them to an account used to upload the images in the Washington County area.
A digital analysis revealed a file that contained images depicting the sexual abuse of prepubescent children that were downloaded by the same subscriber in February, and further investigation indicated the user was living at a residence in Hurricane and identified Clare as the individual suspected of downloading the images. Agents also matched other identifying information that connected Clare to the transfer of the illicit images.
On Thursday morning, after agents confirmed that Clare resided at the address in Hurricane, the internet crimes task force agents arrived at the suspect’s home to execute a search warrant.
As soon as agents started speaking with the suspect, Clare requested an attorney and all questioning was terminated.
During a search of the home, agents uncovered additional evidence, including a childlike sex doll that “appears to be anatomically correct with features that resemble those of a minor,” the agent noted.
Agents also recovered jars of suspected marijuana and paraphernalia.
Clare was arrested shortly after 1 p.m. and booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility facing the charges as outlined in this report. He remains in custody without bail.
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.
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.