ABC4 gets an inside look at the takedown of a child predator

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC4) — With weapons ready, cars packed, and radios tuned in, it’s another day on the job for the Utah Internet Crimes Against Children task force.

ABC4 went to a Riverton neighborhood, where officers quickly approached a home. They knocked several times, waited, made themselves known, and eventually broke through the door. They said there’s a process to everything they do. 

“You’re running through where you’re supposed to go if crap hits the fan,” Utah ICAC Commander Sete Aulai said. “We do this all the time, but it’s far from a routine search warrant execution.”

Inside the home, the task force looked for a 26-year-old man accused of having explicit photos of children. This tip came to Utah from Wisconsin ICAC. The team found out he’s not home, so instead, they sent officers to track him down. In the meantime, investigators in the neighborhood went into the Mobile Forensic Lab, or MFL. They used their search warrant to look through some of the man’s electronics. 

“They can do hard drives, they can do phones,” Aulai said. “This is where the interview happens.” 

Eventually officers brought the 26-year-old back to his home and into the MFL in handcuffs. The ICAC team said he messaged several boys, coercing them to send nude photos. One was an 11-year-old boy in Wisconsin. Officers said the most recent explicit picture the man got was just hours before they brought him in. 

So for the officers, sifting through explicit photos day in and day out can be a heavy load – but they do it. 

“We’re exposed to so much bad, you kind of have to force yourself to see the good in the world,” Aulai said. “Which we do.”

Aulai and his team are one of 61 ICAC task forces across the country. They each work with their State Attorney General’s Office to stop predators taking advantage of kids online, and they’ve seen the number of reports go up. According to Utah ICAC, they saw reports of online child predators go up around 450 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic. They’ve noticed that the number increases in Utah every year since. 

“There’s no type of profile on this crime, it can be anyone,” Aulai said. “It can be a clergy, a lawyer, or even a police officer.” 

Checking back in on the case of the Riverton 26-year-old, he now faces 10 felony charges. After booking him, Commander Aulai shared a warning.

“Those who are engaged in this type of activity, you’re not gonna get away with it much longer,” he said. “I would stop, I would seek help, because you’re likely going to get caught by one of our ICAC investigators.”