Mountain View police arrest Mormon missionary on suspicion of distributing child porn

A Utah man serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was arrested by Mountain View police Wednesday on suspicion of possessing and distributing child pornography.

Though the investigation is still active, none of the victims identified as of Thursday are Mountain View residents, according to police spokeswoman Katie Nelson.

The man, identified as 19-year-old Hayden Hunter, was found and arrested in Fremont around 8 a.m. on March 4 after he was connected to private Facebook Messenger group suspected of being used for child pornography, according to a statement by the department Wednesday. Members of the group were possibly as young as 13 years old, police said.

Investigators with the department’s Cyber Crime Unit first received reports about the Facebook group in September last year, and spent months tracking down the suspect and identifying “numerous videos and images” later determined to be child pornography.

“These investigations take time, particularly due to the graphic nature of the imagery our teams are exposed to, along with the amount of requests that we send out to ensure we are getting as much information as possible,” according to the statement.

Hunter, a resident of Pleasant Grove, Utah, is a missionary with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was stationed in Fremont. Nelson said she did not have information on whether any Mormon church groups have been contacted by the police department.

Police detectives say there could be additional victims, and are asking anyone who may have interacted with Hunter or knows someone who interacted with him through his internet alias and email address — katieteal15@gmail.com — to contact Sgt. Tim Dahl at timothy.dahl@mountainview.gov.