Utah man pleads guilty to child exploitation in two states

SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah man has pleaded guilty to two federal child exploitation cases, one in Arkansas and one in his home state.

Landon Germaine, 24, of Woods Cross, Utah, pleaded guilty to felony interstate coercion and enticement of a minor in the Utah case. In the case in Arkansas, he entered a guilty plea for attempted sexual exploitation via production of child pornography.

He entered a pleas in Utah’s U.S. District Court for both cases. Germaine’s sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 5, 2023.

The affidavit filed by federal prosecutors said Germain used social media phone apps, including Kik, Telegram, Snapchat, Periscope and text messages “to solicit graphic sexual photos and video from minor children.”

According to Deseret News, Germain was arrested in May of 2020 and told investigators that he enticed young girls, one as young as 11, to send him the sexual content.

“In these chats, Germaine provided specific instructions on what the minors should depict in the photos and videos and Germaine repeatedly offered to pay the minors money for sending him sexually explicit videos,” according to a statement Wednesday from U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins in the Utah District.

“Germaine also stated that he was a member and administrator for numerous other known child pornography groups on social media applications and on the internet,” a 2020 affidavit states. When he was arrested the FBI Child Exploitation task force served a search warrant at Germaine’s home.

Documents said the “FBI located and observed numerous sexually explicit and nude images/videos of prepubescent- and pubescent-age children on digital devices belonging to Landon Germaine.”

In the release Higgins said detectives from Woods Cross Police Department, other police and officials from 14 additional U.S. judicial districts joined the FBI in the investigation.