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BOUNTIFUL — An employee with the Davis School District is facing numerous criminal charges accusing him of distributing child sex abuse material.
Chase Steven Hutchings, 29, of Bountiful, was charged on Friday in 1st District Court with 30 counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, a first-degree felony; and two counts of enticing a minor, a second-degree felony.
An undercover officer with the Internet Crimes Against Children task force began a conversation in December with Hutchings on the social media app Hush, "after he posted an ad seeking to have salacious conversations through another app called Teleguard," according to charging documents. Prosecutors say Teleguard is "notorious" for child sex abuse material.
Over the course of three days, Hutchings sent the undercover officer 144 child sex abuse material images, the charges allege.
"The conversation with the agent eventually led to (Hutchings) chatting with who he believed to be the agent's 13-year-old daughter," according to the charges. Hutchings then allegedly sent sexually explicit messages to the "daughter."
On Jan. 15, investigators met with Hutchings and questioned him. He admitted to "having a sexual interest in children," according to charging documents.
A police booking affidavit states that Hutchings is employed by the Davis County School District. Court documents do not state his position.
In a statement to KSL.com on Tuesday, the district said, "The Davis School District has a shared mission with law enforcement to protect students. Mr. Hutchings was employed in a position that didn't have direct access to students. He is currently on unpaid suspension and is in the process of being terminated."
