Utah
Head of Utah charter school accused of distributing, possibly producing child pornography
LAYTON, Utah — The director of a charter elementary school in northern Utah was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of sexually exploiting minors by way of distributing child pornography — and even being involved in producing it.
Jared Dallan Buckley, 40, is the lead director and superintendent at Leadership Learning Academy, a K-6 public charter school with campuses in Ogden and Layton.
An arrest report for Buckley states that investigators in New York identified an account that was distributing and selling “child sexual abuse material.” They traced the account to a device in Utah, and local law enforcement said they determined it was a phone belonging to Buckley.
Buckley’s phone was seized with a warrant, and he was taken into custody. The material allegedly in Buckley’s possession included graphic images of prepubescent girls.
“Preliminary information, collected by the investigators who received this material, also suggests that the suspect could be involved in the production of child sexual abuse material involving children outside of the United States,” the arresting officer wrote in a probable cause statement.
Buckley was booked into the Davis County Jail on one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, and two counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor. He was ordered to be held without bail.
FOX 13 News initially learned of Buckley’s arrest when a parent forwarded an email from Leadership Learning Academy, informing students’ families of the news. School administrators said they learned of his arrest on Tuesday, the same day it happened. They assured parents that the alleged crimes do not involve any of their students.
“This situation is both shocking and heartbreaking,” the email read. “Please know that the safety and well-being of our students is—and always will be—our highest priority. Mr. Buckley has been placed on administrative leave and his access to LLA school buildings and systems has been revoked. We are working closely with local authorities and school personnel to ensure that LLA continues to be a safe, stable, and supportive place for learning.”
In addition to his position at the charter school, court documents said Buckley was involved in local youth sports.
SALT LAKE CITY — A California man in Utah, as part of his duties with the National Guard, is accused of trying to solicit sex from a young teenager.
Joshua Ruben Rodriguez, 29, of Fresno, was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with attempted rape of a child, a first-degree felony, and enticement of a minor, a second-degree felony.
The investigation began when an agent with the Utah State Bureau of Investigation posed as a 13-year-old girl on a “popular social media site … in an attempt to locate and apprehend adults attempting to have sexual contact with children,” according to charging documents.
On April 16, Rodriguez sent the agent a message — believing he was talking to a teen girl — that stated, “I’ll be direct with you, I would like to get to know you and (have sex with) your mind into a daze to where you feel like a woman,” according to charging documents.
When the “girl” asked if he had a problem with her age, Rodriguez replied, “I don’t have a problem with your age,” the charges state.
The agent told Rodriguez to meet at an apartment complex in Salt Lake County where the girl lived, claiming her mother would be gone. When Rodriguez arrived, he was taken into custody, the charges state.
“(Rodriguez) does not have ties to Utah. He is a resident of Fresno, California. (He) was in town as part of his military service with the California National Guard,” prosecutors stated in charging documents while requesting he be held without bail pending trial.
ST. GEORGE, Utah (KUTV) — One person was hospitalized at the St. George Regional Hospital after a car rolled and caught fire just south of the Utah-Arizona border.
The Beaver Dam and Littlefield Fire Department in Arizona said its crews responded to the crash near the Black Rock Road exit – roughly two miles south of the state border – on Sunday night.
Upon arrival, crews put out the car fire and found the driver had left the scene. A single occupant, who was able to get out of the car on their own, was transported to the hospital by a Beaver Dam ambulance.
MORE | Crashes
Their condition has not been publicly released.
Details on what led to the crash and the condition of the driver were not immediately available.
The Beaver Dam and Littlefield Fire Department said law enforcement investigated the scene.
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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz missed out on the NBA Playoffs, but still scored a big win thanks to a coin flip.
In Monday’s tiebreaker coin flip to determine who had the fourth-worst record in the league last season, the Jazz came out winners over the Sacramento Kings, who had the same 22-60 record.
Had the Jazz lost the coin flip, they would have been fifth in NBA Draft Lottery odds. Only the worst four teams are guaranteed to remain within the top eight of the lottery.
If Utah had fallen to fifth, there would have been the chance they could have dropped out of the top 8 teams in the lottery, and owed the draft pick to Oklahoma City, which was top-8 protected in a previous trade.
The Jazz now have an 11.5 percent chance to win the first overall pick in the NBA Draft Lottery, which is scheduled for Sunday, May 10.
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