WEST JORDAN — The Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) arrested 29-year-old Joel-Lehi Organista on the evening of June 2, 2021. Organista has been charged with eight counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, a second-degree felony. Organista was a member of the Salt Lake City School Board and has resigned
Read more on the charges in the Probable Cause Affidavit
Acting on a Cyber Tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, officers uncovered numerous pictures and videos of child pornography on a Dropbox account belonging to Organista. Serving a search warrant, officers also discovered several dozens more such images, including evidence that Organista was communicating directly with children identifying themselves as between the ages of 12-17. Evidence is still being collected from other electronic devices belonging to Organista.
Because Organista is in a position of trust in the education field, he was initially being held without bail in the Salt Lake County Jail.
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Links to news coverage, June 3, 2021
KSL/Deseret News: https://www.ksl.com/article/50179158/salt-lake-city-school-board-member-arrested-in-child-porn-investigation
KUTV: https://kutv.com/news/local/school-board-member-arrested-months-after-tip-asked-to-resign
KTVX: https://www.abc4.com/news/local-news/slc-school-board-leaders-respond-to-board-member-being-charged/
Telemundo:
Gephardt Daily: https://gephardtdaily.com/local/slc-school-district-board-member-facing-8-felony-sexual-exploitation-of-a-minor-charges/
