Two people, including local salon owner, arrested on suspicion of sharing child pornography

LAYTON — Two Davis County residents were arrested on Monday and Tuesday after a months-long investigation showed images containing child sexual abuse material being sent between two accounts, according to a police affidavit.

On Nov. 29 2023, the Centerville Police Department was alerted by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about a Snapchat user possessing child sex abuse material, the document states.

During the months-long investigation, officers tracked down Kurt VanWagoner, 57, and Lindsay Cantwell, 40, both residents of Davis County, and built the case against them.

VanWagoner was said to have communicated with Cantwell primarily through Snapchat, where the pair would “comment on the images as they (were being shared),” according to the document.

As the investigation progressed, Centerville police discovered that Cantwell was the owner of a hair salon in Layton, where the Snapchat account associated with Cantwell “took nude photographs while at her workstation inside (Cantwell’s Salon),” the document states.

VanWagoner was arrested on Tuesday after returning from a business trip, according to the affidavit. In phone interviews, he “eventually admitted to knowing that he was viewing and sharing (child pornography) with other users on (social media).”

Cantwell was arrested on Monday, and “did not deny that the images were viewed by her or that she commented on them,” according to the affidavit.

Kurt VanWagoner was booked into the Davis County Jail on ten charges of aggravated sexual exploitation of a child, a first-degree felony.

Lindsay Cantwell was also booked into the Davis County Jail on ten charges of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony.

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If you have experienced sexual violence, you can access help and resources by calling Utah’s 24-hour Sexual Violence Help Line at 1-801-736-4356 (English) or 1-801-924-0860 (Spanish). You can also call the Rape Recovery Center office line during office hours at 801-467-7282 or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 for free, confidential counseling.

Utah Domestic Violence Coalition operates a confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic abuse hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465). Resources are also available online: udvc.org. The statewide child abuse and neglect hotline is 1-855-323-DCFS (3237).