Clayton Charged With Production, Possession Of Child Pornography In Indictment Returned Wednesday

SALT LAKE CITY – A federal grand jury returned a five-count indictment Wednesday afternoon charging John Reid Clayton, age 29, of Stansbury Park, Utah, with four counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

The indictment alleges Clayton knowingly used four minor children to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of the conduct. According to the indictment, the children were born in 2007, 2010, and 2011.

The indictment follows an investigation by the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office, the Tooele City Police Department, and the Utah Internet Crimes Against Children task force. A federal arrest warrant has been issued for Clayton, who is in state custody.

The potential maximum penalty for each count of production of child pornography is 30 years in prison with a 15-year minimum mandatory sentence. Possession of child pornography carries a potential sentence of 10 years in prison.

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 the Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Indictments are not findings of guilt. Individuals charged in indictments are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.