St. George Man Sentenced to 72 Months’ Imprisonment for Child Pornography Charge

ST. GEORGE, Utah – James Edgar Conner, 42, of St. George, Utah, was sentenced today to 6 years’ imprisonment, and 15 years’ supervised release after he admitted to receipt of child pornography.  

According to court documents and statements and admissions made at the change of plea hearing, from April 2019 through June 2023, in the District of Utah, Conner knowingly possessed electronic files depicting child pornography. 

An investigation into Conner began in June 2023, when law enforcement received multiple cybertips for a Synchronoss account that belonged to Conner. Synchronoss provides cloud data storage for wireless customers. The cybertips revealed child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Law enforcement executed a search warrant for Conner’s Synchronoss account, and the return showed the account was associated with Conner’s cellphone and email address. Inside the account, law enforcement found 23 child pornography videos as well as personal identifying information such as Conner’s paychecks, driver’s license, and work badge. Law enforcement also found several surreptitious videos that Conner covertly recorded of adult women using his restroom. 

On June 27, 2023, law enforcement executed a search warrant on Conner’s residence in St. George. Prior to the execution of the search warrant, law enforcement arrested Conner. During the search, officers found a number of digital devices including cellphones and covert camera equipment in the residence, among other items. During an interview, Conner admitted knowingly downloading multiple CSAM videos to his phone, some of which depicted children under the age of 10. 

The case was investigated by the St. George Police Department. 

Assistant United States Attorney Chris Burton of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah prosecuted the case. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.