Former Deseret News journalist charged for enticing minor, who was undercover detective

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A former Deseret News journalist was charged Friday after allegedly enticing a minor, who turned out to be an undercover law enforcement officer.

According to court documents, Joseph Brent Walker, 70, attempted to entice a person he believed was a 14-year-old female into participating in sexual activities with him. The ’14-year-old’ was actually an undercover Layton Police Detective.

Detective Travis Rapp, with the Layton Police Department, was posing as a 14-year-old female residing in Davis County on an online dating platform. Between 07/18/2025 and 07/28/2025, Rapp spoke with an individual online in sexually explicit conversations.

Layton Police Department were able to acquire a warrant and determined the individual’s identity using the IP address that was used to send sexually enticing and harmful materials to Rapp. The IP address apparently matched Joseph Brent Walker’s cellular phone and the sexually harmful materials were sent from his Washington County residence.

Deseret News confirmed that Walker worked for them as a journalist and in other roles until 2013. “From 1990 to at least 2015, Walker wrote ValueSpeak, a weekly syndicated column that examined contemporary issues through the lens of traditional values,” according to the Deseret News.

He currently works as a Communications manager for the Utah Department of Transportation, according to their website.

“I’m not aware of these charges,” Walker said when contacted by the Deseret News on Friday. “So I don’t have anything to say.”

Walker allegedly ‘engaged in sexually explicit conversations’ with Detective Rapp, who he believed to be a minor female. In those conversations, Walker allegedly told Rapp that he was sexually aroused by the ‘minor’ and asked ‘her’ to keep the conversation secret.

While posing as the female minor, Detective Rapp reportedly told Walker several times that ‘she’ was underage. Despite this, Walker sent photos of himself that, while clothed, clearly indicated arousal, according to court documents.

On August 22, 2025, Joseph Brent Walker was officially charged with two counts of distributing material harmful to minors, a third-degree felony. He was also charged with enticing a minor, which is a third-degree felony as well.

If convicted, Walker could face up to five years in prison for each charge.