Convicted sex offender charged in new case of child voyeurism at church

SANDY, Utah — A registered sex offender who police say claimed he had a “moment of weakness” when he used his phone to take pictures of a boy in a bathroom while at church is now facing formal charges.

Zachary Wallin, 32, of Sandy, was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with voyeurism committed against a child under the age of 14, a third-degree felony.

On July 31, at a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 2535 Newcastle Drive (8890 South), Wallin was at a urinal next to a 12-year-old boy when he held his phone over the urinal and above the boy, according to charging documents.

After he was arrested, Wallin “admitted he had ‘a moment of weakness.’ Mr. Wallin spoke with his father while in police custody and stated, ‘I was the one that took those pictures,'” the charges state.

Prosecutors say Wallin also said that “he likes child pornography and likes females but … is taking advantage of any opportunity available to him.”

Wallin was convicted in 2015 of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony, in 1st District Court. He was ordered to serve 210 days in the Cache County Jail followed by three years of probation, which he successfully completed in 2018, according to court records. Because of his conviction, Wallin is required to register with the Utah Sex Offender and Kidnap Registry.