Springville man facing dozens of felonies for possessing and distributing CSAM

SPRINGVILLE, Utah (ABC4) — A Springville man was arrested a second time within less than two weeks for allegedly possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM). He is facing dozens of felony charges.

On Nov. 6, 2025, Billy Wayne Gustin, 46, was arrested on 12 counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, 56 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, and one count of possession of a controlled substance.

Weeks prior, on Oct. 29, Gustin was also arrested on six counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, and charges involving drugs and paraphernalia. He has not been formally charged in connection with either arrest yet.

Gustin’s first arrest in October came after an investigation into a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). On Feb. 24, 2025, a social media platform reported that a user was uploading and/or distributing CSAM. This tip was forwarded to the Utah Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.

A member of ICAC who works with the Springville Police Department used the IP address included in the tip to file search warrants and court orders. Eventually, documents say, the account was connected to Gustin.

On Oct. 29, detectives served a residential search warrant on Gustin’s house in Springville. He was interviewed regarding the account with CSAM, and allegedly admitted to owning the account and the connected email address.

According to the arrest statement, Gustin also disclosed that he was “‘trading’ pornography” on the social media platform and would view CSAM when he “came across” it. Police performed a forensic search of Gustin’s phone at the scene and discovered that it contained “a large amount” of CSAM.

Police also say that methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia were located at the scene. Gustin was booked into the Utah County Jail, and bail was set at $20,000. He was able to meet the bail requirements and was released later that same day, documents say.

Around the same time, a Payson City Police detective who is part of the ICAC Task Force was working on a tip from the NCMEC about a user who was uploading and distributing “a large amount” of CSAM. The tip was from August 2024 and seemed to also be connected with a January 2019 tipline.

The majority of the files described by police involved real children, but some of the CSAM had been created by generative AI.

As a result of several search warrants and court orders, the detective had connected the accounts to Gustin. He learned soon after that Gustin had been arrested by the Springville Police Department in a separate investigation.

On Nov. 6, detectives from the Springville and Mapleton Police Departments were able to locate and arrest Gustin for the new allegations involving possessing and distributing CSAM. Springville Police reportedly discovered methamphetamine on his person this time, as well.

Gustin was booked into the Utah County Jail.

He allegedly denied speaking with police, instead asking for an attorney. The Payson Police detective requested that no bail be set for Gustin this time because he is now considered a flight risk, “given the seriousness of these new charges.”