SALT LAKE CITY — A former Salt Lake City firefighter was sentenced to 179 days in a jail following his pleading guilty to the sexual exploitation of a minor.
Kelly J. Carter, 52, pleaded guilty in June to the one charge of sexual exploitation of a minor, prosecutors have dismissed 9 other sexual exploitation of a minor charges following his guilty plea.
Watch: Former Salt Lake City firefighter sentenced for sexual exploitation of a minor
The judge sentenced Carter to 1-15 years in prison, though that time was suspended. He will have to spend 179 days in jail due to the plea deal he struck having a minimum of 365 days in jail. He is being given 186 days credit for time served.
Carter will also have to undergo 48 months of probation following his release and immediately enter into an in-patient treatment program. One condition of his probation will be no internet access without approval by his probation officer.
The state also asked the court to not charge Carter restitution in the case, but allow the possibility to stay open for the statutory period in case any victims come forward.
Carter was arrested in February following an investigation that started in January when a cryptocurrency company filed a report with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding an account making a transaction associated with selling child sexual abuse material.
The account of the cryptocurrency holder was captured, and a report was then forwarded to the Utah Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Investigators say they were able to confirm that the owner of the account was Kelly Carter.
On February 5, police say they contacted Carter at his home. According to detectives, Carter admitted to purchasing a subscription to a site with the intent to view child sexual abuse material.
Carter allegedly told police that he would view the materials while at work as a firefighter.
When investigators ran a scan of Carter's phone, though, they say they found at least one of the child sexual abuse materials dated back to 2020.
Investigators also claimed that Carter would often babysit children the same age as the victims in the materials.
