Source: Office of United States Attorneys
Salt Lake City, Utah – A federal jury in Salt Lake City returned a guilty verdict today against a Utah County man after he sexually abused a 10-year-old girl and recorded the sexual abuse.
Brent Richard Johnson, 51, of Cedar Hills, Utah, was charged by indictment on November 20, 2024, with production of child pornography, and possession of child pornography.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between approximately August and November 2013, defendant Johnson used his iPhone to record himself sexually abusing a 10-year-old minor victim while she was sleeping. Following the execution of a search warrant in 2024 on Mr. Johnson’s residence, the videos were discovered by law enforcement on a backup of an iPhone on Mr. Johnson’s computer. During the search, law enforcement also found a USB charging box that was disguised as a camera in a bathroom.
Johnson’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for February 9, 2026, before U.S. District Court Judge Howard C. Nielson, Jr. at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.
Acting United States Attorney Felice John Viti of the District of Utah made the announcement.
The case is being investigated jointly by the American Fork Police Department, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations.
Assistant United States Attorneys Carol A. Dain and Joey L. Branch of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah are prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.