Sandy man charged with making, distributing child pornography

SALT LAKE CITY — A man arrested for allegedly producing and distributing child pornography is now facing federal charges.

John Christopher Ogden, 34, of Sandy, was indicted in federal court Tuesday with one count of production of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography. He was arrested Friday and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail.

Utah authorities were originally alerted to Ogden by the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs in October, according to court documents. During two days in October, Ogden sent an undercover agent in New Zealand 13 images of a prepubescent female, some nude, the indictment states.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security were contacted in Utah, and a search warrant was executed on Ogden's residence Friday. Investigators believe he took pictures of a minor female and "distributed those images to several individuals via email," according to court records. Investigators say he was also receiving child porn from other Internet users.

Ogden made an initial appearance Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Evelyn Furse. He has a detention hearing scheduled for Thursday.

If convicted, Ogden faces up to 30 years in federal prison for production of child pornography in addition to up to 20 years for distribution of child pornography.

— Pat Reavy, Twitter: DNewsCrimeTeam