Utah man arrested for enticing, exploiting minors on social media

DAVIS COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — A 26-year-old is behind bars for allegedly grooming underage girls to send him sexually explicit images on social media.

Jaden Cole Weaver, 26, has been arrested on one count of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, a first-degree felony; 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony; one count of unlawful sexual conduct with a 16- to 17-year-old, a third-degree felony; distributing harmful material to a minor, a third-degree felony; and enticing a minor, a Class A misdemeanor.

According to the arrest statement, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a tip from a social media company in April. The tip included an IP address for an account that had uploaded and distributed suspected child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

NCMEC reviewed the tip and forwarded it to the Utah Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. Investigators reviewed the evidence and confirmed it was CSAM.

Through search warrants, ICAC investigators were able to identify the probable account owner as Weaver, who lives in Davis County.

On Nov. 4, a residential search warrant was executed at Weaver’s home, and he was brought in for questioning. The 26-year-old allegedly admitted that the social media account and its associated email address and phone number were his.

However, Weaver denied sending or receiving CSAM on the social media platform.

During the ICAC investigation, an officer located communication between Weaver and several underage girls. Documents say he would request sexually explicit images and videos, and some of the minors would share them.

One victim of this was a 16-year-old who discussed meeting with Weaver in person. Investigators located a photo of Weaver and the 16-year-old kissing, and the two discussed a video they took of them engaging in sexual relations.

Concerningly, Weaver allegedly had sexually explicit conversations about a young child whom documents say he sometimes has access to.

He also reportedly had a conversation with someone on the platform in which he claimed that he snuck into a girl’s house through a window and raped her with a knife.

At the scene, forensics did not locate evidence of CSAM on Weaver’s electronic devices, but an email from the social media website he was using showed that his account was being deactivated.

ICAC investigators had evidence of Weaver possessing CSAM from the social media accounts belonging to female victims, as well as what was captured by the social media company.

Documents say further investigation is underway, and ICAC investigators may add more charges at a later date.

Weaver was arrested and booked into the Davis County Jail, where he is being held without bail.