Feds charge man after child-porn conviction

FARMINGTON — A federal grand jury has indicted a Bountiful man on child pornography charges after his conviction for the same offense in state court.

Scott Dale Kerber, 48, was indicted last week on a federal charge of possession of child pornography. In a plea deal last year here in 2nd District Court, court records show the Utah Attorney General's Office dropped eight charges against Kerber in exchange for his plea to a pair of second-degree felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.

During his sentencing in March, court records show Judge Rodney S. Page suspended a pair of one- to 15-year prison terms in favor of probation and a year in jail, allowing Kerber to leave during the day to go to work. After the sentence was imposed, the Utah Attorney General's Office confirmed it approached federal prosecutors about pursuing a case.

Such a move is "extremely rare," said Ken Wallentine, the Utah attorney general's chief of law enforcement.

"There are times when we simply feel that the level of criminality requires a more severe sentence," he told the Deseret News on Monday. "We certainly respect the state court system, but there are times when the power of the federal penalties, which are sometimes more severe than state penalties, should be imposed."

According to charges filed in 2nd District Court, Kerber was investigated in 2006 by agents from the Utah Attorney General's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force for the uploading of images of child pornography. Agents tracked down Kerber's e-mail and IP addresses, accusing him of trading the illicit images online.

"Kerber admitted to uploading and downloading approximately 1,200 photos of child pornography into that account," ICAC Agent Jessica Eldredge wrote on a probable-cause statement filed with the 2007 charges.

In a statement, federal prosecutors said the U.S. Justice Department may approve a federal prosecution even though the defendant has already been prosecuted in state court for the same conduct in limited circumstances.