Utah National Guardsman arrested on suspicion of child sex abuse

Derek Whitney, 43, was arrested on two felony charges of child sex abuse, including enticing a minor.

Members of an FBI task force that focus on child exploitation and human trafficking found Whitney on an “internet-based application.”

Whitney was allegedly arranging a time and place to meet up with someone who he believed was the father of an 8-year-old boy. Instead, Whitney was met with FBI agents who took him into custody.

Upon his arrest, agents recovered a device that was used to plan the meet up and suspected abuse.

Salt Lake’s FBI field office says it has seen an increase in the number of sexual extortion crimes, with young boys making up the majority of victims.

“A lot of our work is finding predators online who are targeting children either in a trafficking scenario or sexual abuse scenario and disrupting them and bringing justice to victims here in Utah,” said Special Agent Dustin Grant during a special press conference on May 3, 2025.