CEDAR CITY — The discovery of child sex dolls in a southern Utah landfill led to the arrest of a man police say had more of the illegal dolls in his home.

Shane Alexander Larson, 54, of Cedar City, was arrested Thursday and charged Friday in 5th District Court with six counts of distributing or purchasing a child sex doll, a third-degree felony; and six counts of possession of a child sex doll, a class A misdemeanor.

The investigation began a week ago when Iron County sheriff’s deputies were called to the county landfill, where an employee, while conducting “routine checks of the dumpsters for anything that is not supposed to be put in the dumpster to prevent fire hazards,” found two such dolls, according to a police booking affidavit.

“The box that the sex dolls were in had the shipping label on it, an attempt to black out the label with a Sharpie marker, but the shipping label was still legible,” the affidavit states.

The box and shipping label were traced back to Larson’s home and investigators obtained a search warrant for the residence. At the home, detectives found additional dolls, the affidavit states.

When questioned, Larson admitted that those found at the landfill were his and that he discarded them “because they appeared to look too young,” according to the arrest report.

Larson was arrested at the conclusion of the interview.

In 2023, HB108, which bans the possession, distribution or purchase of sex dolls made to look like children, and was sponsored by Rep. Matthew Gwynn, R-Farr West — who is also chief of the Roy Police Department — sailed through both chambers of the Legislature without a single lawmaker opposing it. The bill was then signed into law by the governor.