TOOELE — A Tooele County man was charged Thursday with possessing child pornography.
Marcus L. Memmott, 23, of Stockton, was charged with 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony.
The investigation began Oct. 20 when agents reported finding child pornography pictures and videos being distributed on a peer-to-peer program. After tracking down the IP address, Utah’s Internet Crimes Against Children task force served a search warrant on Memmott’s residence on Wednesday.
Despite child pornography depicting very young children being found on Memmott’s cellphone, which Memmott claimed he was the only one who used it, he said the pornography wasn’t his, according to charging documents.
“I confronted Memmott about the evidence of child pornography found on his cellphone. Memmott continued to deny the evidence and said he is not responsible,” investigators wrote in the charges.
Prosecutors have requested Memmott be held in jail on a high bail of $500,000.
“Marcus Memmott poses a high threat to his family and the community,” the charges state.