Former assistant AG who prosecuted crimes against children arrested in child porn case
SPANISH FORK, Utah (KUTV) — A retired Utah attorney general prosecutor who worked in the Child Protection Division was arrested Wednesday after investigators say he was in possession of child pornography.
Gary Lee Bell was taken into custody after a search warrant was served on his home.
He is listed as having last received a salary from the Utah AG's office in 2020, according to transparent.utah.gov.
An investigation began after the Utah County Sheriff's Office received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, according to a probable cause affidavit. The center reported sexually explicit photos of young children had been uploaded from an IP address in Spanish Fork on May 22.
The arresting detective viewed the nine photos and described them in graphic detail in the arrest report. The images, which included children believed to be as young as 6 years old, were traced to an IP address belonging to Bell, officials said.
After obtaining a judicial order for the IP Address subscriber information, I was able to identify the suspect as Gary Lee Bell," according to the probable cause statement.
A judge signed a search warrant, which was served at Bell's home on Wednesday.
"I explained the warrant to Gary and gave him a copy," the arresting detective said. "Gary was explained Miranda and did not wish to answer any questions."
The affidavit states Bell was asked to provide an email address during the booking process. He reportedly gave the same email address as the one used for the account that uploaded the photos.
The detective requested the suspect be held without bail not just for the "egregiousness of the crime," but also because his grandchildren are in his care multiple days of the week.
"I feel that due to the nature of the crime, Gary is a danger to the grandchildren," the arrest report states.
Bell's wife also allegedly told investigators that he had tried to film her while she was showering without her knowledge or consent, according to the arrest document.
The report did not disclose information on who may have taken the photos of the children or if the victims in the images were known to the suspect.
He was booked into the Utah County Jail on suspicion of six counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, all second-degree felonies.
If you suspect child abuse is occurring in any state, help is available at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
