ST. GEORGE —A Washington City man was arrested during an undercover sting operation after he reportedly arrived at a predetermined location in St. George to meet up with a 6-year-old boy but instead was met by task force agents working under the Utah Attorney General’s Office.
On Thursday, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force was conducting an undercover operation targeting online predators, including those seeking to meet children using various internet and social media message sites in Washington County, according to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest.
During the operation, an agent posing as a parent of a young child came across a user who said in the message thread he had an attraction to children ages 3-8. The suspect went on to describe the sexual acts he desired to perform on children.
The suspect also said he had “watched infant sex abuse videos,” the agent noted in the report.
The suspect identified himself as “Damon” in the message thread, and then he inquired as to whether the undercover would “share his son” so the suspect could perform sexual acts upon the child. The report also said arrangements were made for the suspect to meet up with the purported parent and the youngster.
The suspect arrived at the pre-arranged spot in an orange Jeep Renegade, the same type of vehicle the suspect specified in the message, police say, and his appearance matched that of the profile photo found on the suspect’s account.
The suspect, identified as 49-year-old Damon Roy Campbell, of Washington City, was taken into custody immediately after exiting his vehicle by Washington City Police detectives who would handle the investigation from there.
Following the interview with police, Washington City Police detectives obtained a search warrant for the suspect’s cellphone, which he had with him at the time of his arrest. The report said the warrant would allow investigators to collect any evidence relating to the enticement of a minor charge since Campbell had reportedly made references during the exchange with the undercover operatives to watching videos depicting the sexual abuse of infants.
On Friday, detectives found a secured file during a forensic examination of Campbell’s phone reportedly containing 16 videos depicting the rape of children ranging in age of infancy and 10 years, the officer noted, along with another folder labeled “camera” that contained several “selfie” photos of the suspect.
Washington City Police Lt. Kory Klotz told St. George News the detectives working the case are cross-trained to assist in ICAC operations, so the detective who took over the investigation and gathered the information from the suspect’s cell phone also was involved in the undercover sting operation that took place last week.
Following the arrest, Campbell was transported and booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility facing five second-degree felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor for what was found on the suspect’s cellphone, along with one third-degree felony count of enticing a minor by internet or text for reportedly meeting up with what the suspect believed was a 6-year-old boy.
Bail was set at $55,000, and the suspect was released from custody the following evening after posting a bond.
When the case was reviewed by the Washington County Attorney’s Office, the five exploitation charges were filed, while the entice a minor offense was enhanced to a first-degree felony criminal solicitation charge.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.