Salt Lake City man sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for possessing child pornography

SALT LAKE CITY — A local Salt Lake City man was sentenced last week to 10 years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography, including images depicting young children being sexually assaulted by adults.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Utah Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Steven Seth Hansen, 36, who has a previous federal conviction for use of interstate facilities to transmit information about a minor, must also register as a sex offender, pay restitution in the case, and forfeit a phone and tablet.

As a part of a plea agreement reached with federal prosecutors, Hansen pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child pornography, which included a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years in federal prison.  Hansen admitted he possessed more than 600 images of child pornography. U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Shelby, who imposed the sentence last week, ordered Hansen to report to federal prison to begin serving his sentence on Jan. 15.

Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Hansen’s home in March, following up on tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. HSI special agents and officers with the Utah Internet Crimes Against Children task force recovered a tablet and phone with child pornography images on them. Hansen was charged with receiving and possessing child pornography in an indictment returned in March.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 12,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2014, more than 2,300 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page. HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.