Utah Truck Driver Charged with Child Exploitation Offenses

Salt Lake City, Utah – A federal grand jury in Utah returned an indictment charging a Utah man after he allegedly attempted to meet with a minor to engage in sexual activity. 

According to the court documents, on February 16, 2023, Kendrick Aristotle Eastes, 31, of Taylorsville, Utah, attempted to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity in the District of Utah. He did so by communicating through the internet, a means of foreign commerce. According to statements made in open court on April 19, 2023, Eastes was employed as a truck driver at the time of the alleged crime. Using a social networking application, on February 16, 2023, Eastes contacted an undercover agent whom he believed was the stepfather of a 7-year-old boy. As the chat continued, Eastes and the undercover agent planned a meeting so that Eastes could meet with and engage in sexual activity with the minor. Estes arrived at the meeting site intending to have sex with the minor but was immediately arrested and taken into custody. 

Eastes is charged with attempted coercion and enticement of a minor and distribution of child pornography. The defendant had his initial court appearance April 19, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“The weight of the evidence is substantial,” said Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Dustin B. Pead, and ordered Eastes remain in custody. 
 
U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins for the District of Utah made the announcement.

The case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Las Vegas.

Assistant U.S. Attorney, Mark Y. Hirata, of the District of Utah is prosecuting the case. 

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 CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.