This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Days before Utah prosecutor Chad Platt leapt to his death from a downtown parking garage, police had served a search warrant at his Salt Lake City home.
They were looking for child pornography during the May 5 search, according to recently unsealed search warrants. Platt's family says he was innocent of the allegations against him, though investigators won't say whether any illegal images were found.
Agents with the Utah Attorney General's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force began investigating Platt after someone shared child pornography files in February with an undercover agent using an internet protocol (IP) address tied to the prosecutor, according to a search warrant affidavit. The undercover agent had been investigating peer-to-peer networks being used to share the illegal porn, court papers allege.
On that Thursday in May, agents searched Platt's home — but did not seize any of his computers or electronic devices. They took only a VHS tape labeled "CATS," 44 floppy discs and four zip disks, according to court records. Platt was not arrested.
He jumped off the downtown parking garage, located near 81 E. 300 South, four days later.
In a letter to The Salt Lake Tribune, Platt's family lamented heavy-handed tactics used by law enforcement, who were armed as they searched devices inside the home for seven hours. Platt was not arrested, the family added, because nothing criminal was found.
He was innocent of the accusations, his family wrote, but felt his career and reputation would be ruined by the mere allegation.
"After Chad's house was searched, all of his means of communication were taken from him and he was left alone in his home to contemplate what must have felt like a deep betrayal," the letter reads. "Chad understood the serious nature of these false allegations lodged against him and his limited options in terms of defending his honor. Regardless of how forcefully he denied these false allegations, they would forever tarnish his impeccable reputation."
The family wrote that Platt believed the "damage had already been done" and took his life near the building where he had worked at for the past 17 years.
Platt's boss, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill, said he was notified that a search warrant had been executed at Platt's home just minutes after it was served. Gill said he was immediately concerned for Platt's safety. Initially, he believed Platt would be arrested and Gill wanted to ensure the prosecutor was not booked into the county jail among criminals that Platt had encountered through his work. Then, after Gill learned no arrest was made, he became worried that Platt would harm himself.
Though Platt was put on immediate leave from his job, Gill said his office worked through that weekend to make contact with Platt and ensure his safety.
"[We told him] we want to make sure you are safe, and we will get through this. That this was not the end of the world," Gill said. "Whatever allegations the A.G.'s office had, that's what they were. They were allegations. The person that I knew was a person who was very loved, who was a professional and a caring person.
[He] was an excellent prosecutor and an incredible legal mind. That is the person I knew and that was the person we wanted to make sure was safe."
The district attorney said he was "absolutely sickened" when he received word of the suicide about 5 a.m. on that Monday.
"It was absolutely devastating and painful," he said, "not only for me but for the scores of people who knew Chad. It's just an absolute tragedy."
Until this past week, the attorney general's office has refused to comment or acknowledge that it was investigating Platt. Officials have denied requests and appeals seeking records, citing an ongoing investigation. A judge made the search warrant affidavits and other court papers public on Thursday after The Tribune petitioned the court to unseal the file.
Attorney general's office spokesman Dan Burton said his office did not oppose the case being unsealed because the "ongoing investigation" involved finding a work-issued iPad of Platt's that was recently located.
All of the electronic devices in Platt's home were searched when the warrant was served, an agent wrote in an affidavit filed in court, but the iPad was not found. Burton would not disclose whether child pornography was found on it or any other seized items.
Burton said he could not say whether illegal content was found because agents are still investigating distribution networks and sources of any content. Burton said Platt was not arrested when the search warrant was served because investigators "did not have enough information" to take him into custody.
"The Utah attorney general's office is dedicated to the highest standards of investigation and prosecution," Spencer Austin, the chief criminal deputy attorney for the office, said in a statement. "The methods utilized by the Internet Crimes Against Children task force are on the cutting edge of technology and adhere to the law in every respect."
Austin added that many in the attorney general's office worked with Platt and "we were saddened by his death."
Anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts is urged to call the 24-hour National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). A directory of Utah's crisis lines can be found at http://dsamh.utah.gov/crisis-hotlines-2/.
Twitter: @jm_miller —
How to get help
P Anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts is urged to call the 24-hour National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). A directory of Utah's crisis lines can be found at http://dsamh.utah.gov/crisis-hotlines-2/.