Sexual Exploitation of Children

| by Travis Uresk | June 18th 2026 | Duchesne County (6/16/26)—The FBI executed a federal search warrant at the residence of 51-year-old Russell Dean Steinke, based on information suggesting he had exchanged Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) on the dark web. Russell is already listed on the sex offender registry due to a felony conviction for sexual exploitation of a child while residing in Wyoming. During the search, several electronic devices were confiscated, including hi

| by Travis Uresk | May 19th, 2026 | Uintah County, Utah (5/19/26)—A female walked into the lobby of the Uintah County Sheriff's Office and requested to speak with a deputy in private. Deputy W. Russell escorted the woman to a private area of the sheriff's office, where a formal interview was conducted. The woman was visibly upset and paranoid that someone would hear what she was about to tell him. During the interview, the female said she discovered concerning material on a

| by Travis Uresk | April 25th, 2026 | Vernal, Utah (4/6/26)—In the evening, Detective Collom was contacted by the on-duty VPD sergeant regarding a case of a sex offender violation that was being investigated. The detective was informed that one of the patrol officers seized a cell phone from 42-year-old William John Kremin regarding a sex offender violation at the Vernal City Park, where he was sitting, watching the children. The investigating officer was preparing a search

| by Travis Uresk | March 25 th , 2026 | Duchesne County— Detective Duncan was notified about an open case in Nevada for Child Sex Abuse Material (CSAM), involving 38-year-old Sean Bradley Wigglesworth. Detective Duncan met with Detective Dunckhorst from the Winnemucca Police Department, who provided all the information, documents, and downloads he had gathered from his investigation. Detective Duncan sat down and reviewed all the evidence Detective Dunckhorst had given her.

| by Travis Uresk | March 13 th , 2026 | On March 9 th , 2026, Cpl. Cox stopped a vehicle on Main Street in Duchesne City, doing 41 MPH in a 30 MPH zone. The deputy approached the vehicle and asked the driver for his ID. He was identified as 31-year-old Nicholas Michael Peterson. While the deputy spoke with Nicholas, he became nervous and stated he was on his way back from Salt Lake City, dropping off his girlfriend at the airport. Cpl. Cox returned to his patrol vehicle to r

| by Travis Uresk | February 9 th , 2026 | On January 22 nd , 2025, the Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a detective with the Federal Way Police Department in Washington state about a case he had been working on through the Washington state ICAC office involving Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). Det. Mullet in Washington executed several warrants against service providers, including Dropbox, Google, Comcast, and Verizon, based on a National Center for M

| by Danielle MacKimm, KUTV | | Sat, July 19th 2025 at 8:33 AM | BALLARD, Utah (KUTV) — A registered sex offender from Uintah County is facing 18 felony charges after allegedly exchanging explicit photos and videos with an 11-year-old boy over text. A Duchesne County Sheriff's deputy was assigned to investigate a case involving 23-year-old Jacob Kimball Bates on July 12. Family members of an 11-year-old boy reportedly reached out to law enforcement after finding texts on the

by Travis Uresk 6-3-25 | Duchesne County | May 28th, 2025 | The week of May 19, Detective Hunter with the Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office received a cyber tip from the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force for investigation. Several images of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) had been sent out by the user and were attached to the cyber tip. Detective Hunter submitted a warrant to KIK on Friday, May 23, 2025, for the subscriber information as well as all informa

By Travis Uresk 5-27-25 | Roosevelt, Ut. | May 23rd, 2025 | During the investigation, it was uncovered that the 15-year-old victim was being human trafficked and drugged by multiple adult males who were having sex with her. During the interview with detectives, the female victim stated while at the apartments in Roosevelt, she met 35-year-old Jeffory Murray, who would have been around 33 years old at the time of the incident. The victim told detectives that Jeffory would come

by Travis Uresk 5-17-25 | Duchesne, Ut. | December 2024 | In late December 2024 Detective Hunter with the DCSO was sent a cellphone extraction from the Grand County Sheriff's Office. The extraction was about a seized cellphone belonging to 53-year-old Samuel Ray Nielsen, who is incarcerated in the Duchesne County Jail. The Grand County Sheriff's office was investigating Samuel for charges involving the enticement of a child. The detectives with Grand County had responded to t

By Travis Uresk 3/22/25 | Vernal, Ut. | March 20th, 2025 | Detective White with the Vernal Police Department started working on this case on Wednesday, February 12th, 2025, when the department received a National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) Cybertip regarding a MediaLab/Kik user having uploaded material to a user account, which depicts Child Sex Abuse Material (CSAM). MediaLab/Kik reported that they had become aware of a user uploading contraband to thei

By Travis Uresk 2/27/25 | Duchesne, Ut. | January 16th, 2025 | In late December 2024, Detective Hunter received a cellphone extraction from the Grand County Sheriff's Office. The extraction was regarding a seized cellphone belonging to 53-year-old Samuel Ray Nielsen, who is incarcerated in the Duchesne County Jail. The Grand County Sheriff's office was investigating Samuel for charges involving the enticement of a child. Detectives with Grand County had responded to the Duche

By Travis Uresk 12/25/24 | Vernal, Ut. | December 23rd, 2024 | While Detective Gardenheir was investigating another case involving...

September 1st, 2024 Here is a list of all the registered sex offenders listed in the Uintah Basin from the Utah Sex and Kidnap Offender...

By Travis Uresk 6/14/24 | Duchesne County | June 14th, 2024 | On 5/5/24, Deputy Duncan was investigating a possible rape that had...

By 1nationjustice.com 4/10/24 Uintah Basin Sex Offenders In Utah, the sex offender registry also includes kidnapping offenders. Utah’s...

By Travis Uresk 8/25/23 Roosevelt, Ut.-On 1/4/23, Duchesne County Sheriff's Office received a referral from the National Center for...

| Posted By Travis Uresk | 8/12/24 | Grooming is the process by which someone befriends and gains the trust of a child (and sometimes the...