This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A former Boy Scout leader was sentenced to prison Monday, which happened to be his 34th birthday, for collecting and manufacturing child pornography.
Shawn Thomas Whiting was ordered to serve one to 15 years in prison on four second-degree felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor by 3rd District Judge Robin Reese.
The Utah Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force was doing a Peer 2 Peer investigation when they discovered Whiting was advertising he had child pornography files to share, according to Paul Murphy, spokesman for the Utah Attorney General's Office.
ICAC agents found hundreds of child pornography images at his Taylorsville home and then worked with members of the Idaho ICAC Task Force to identify one victim living in Idaho.
"This is a sad reminder that people who collect child pornography often abuse children and manufacture and distribute images of their own crimes," says Assistant Attorney General and ICAC Prosecutor Paul G. Amann.
Until he was arrested, Whiting was working for Intermountain Health Care as a registrar at LDS Hospital and Alta View Hospital, and had previously served as a Boy Scout leader.
Reese also ordered Whiting to pay for all counseling costs for his victim.