Correction officer faces child exploitation charge

A Utah Department of Corrections officer was charged with downloading child pornography on a department computer while employed earlier this year.

Andrew Decker, 23, was certified as a correction officer last November, as stated in documents filed in 3rd District Court Wednesday. He had been stationed in a control room of the Wasatch Facility at the Utah State Prison for a month when officials were contacted about his behavior.

When confronted by investigators in January, Decker said he would spend nearly an hour during each shift using the computer to download videos and visit explicit Web sites, as stated in court documents. Several depictions of child pornography had been saved onto a computer he frequently used.

Court documents state that Decker became interested in the "under-age" material after reading a parole revocation report of an offender. The report listed sites the offender had visited, which prompted Decker's curiosity.

After downloading a few applications, including music and gaming software, Decker stated in a letter dated Jan. 24, "I used Limewire to look up acronyms (relating to child pornography). I also believe I googled some of the keywords. I probably would have been okay there but for some reason, I then downloaded some of the files but then deleted them. I do not condone or enjoy child porn and regret that I ever looked at any of it."

Police seized several items from Decker's home in West Valley City, including computers and various pornographic publications. Due to the number of pending cases at the computer crime lab, Decker's hard drive couldn't be searched for nearly five months.

A forensic examiner returned a report in July that determined Decker was in possession of "obvious video clips of pre-pubescent minors depicted in various acts of exploitation," as stated in court documents.

Evidence found on Decker's home computer and a hard drive he took home from work led the Attorney General's office to charge him Wednesday with five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, all second degree felonies.

Decker is no longer employed by the Department of Corrections.

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E-mail: wleonard@desnews.com