Utah CEO caught with 13,000 nasty rape videos of bound toddlers gets away with only seven months in jail
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH: A Utah CEO who pleaded guilty to having more than 13,000 files of child pornography, including some that depicted rape and bestiality, was sentenced by a judge to less than one year in prison.
Douglas Eugene Saltsman, 40, considered to be a "computer genius" after founding a now-defunct blockchain and cryptocurrency in Sandy, first came to the attention of authorities after they were alerted to an internet provider address sharing child pornography using a peer-to-peer file-sharing program.
Detectives obtained a search warrant and, with the help of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, raided his home on May 7, 2019. They seized his electronic devices, which were found to contain thousands of files of child pornography, according to KUTV.
One of the files consisted of a compilation video of prepubescent girls under the age of 8, some of them just toddlers, being raped. Other files obtained from a laptop, a black computer, an SSD storage device, and an SD card, contained child sex abuse imagery involving toddlers. They showed the children bound and raped.
After submitting the files to the law enforcement portal of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, police learned that 279 of them depicted known identified child victims.
Police also found "disturbing videos of Douglas Saltsman engaged (in) sexual intercourse with several unconscious women," and a "clandestine drug lab of some sort" in a downstairs bedroom closet. They had to call the Sandy Fire Department and hazmat team to ensure the lab was not a public safety hazard.
Saltsman was initially facing 11 charges in connection to the files but struck a deal with prosecutors last month where most of them were dropped in exchange for him pleading guilty to three second-degree felony charges of sexual exploitation of a minor.
During his sentencing this past week, the 40-year-old, who was facing 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, apologized for his behavior.
"I just want to say that every day I wake up to shame, guilt, regret, and disgust," he told the court. "When I did the psychosexual evaluation all I could talk about was confusion and compulsive behaviors, talk about downloading, viewing, and masturbating to child pornography."
"I didn't understand why I would think these things. I started seeing a psychiatrist right after that," he continued. "I was prescribed medication and I began therapy. That's when I started to understand some of the deeper mental issues. I learned that my self-destructive behavior matches my self-hatred."
"I want to repair the damage I have done, that I see that I have done. I want to be able to look at myself in the mirror. I'm sorry. I'll make sure this never happens again, you'll never see me."
Prosecutor Cynthia Poulsen pointed out to Judge Douglas Hogan that Saltsman had only talked about himself and not the victims, but the judge suspended the recommendations for a lengthy prison term. Instead, he sentenced Saltsman to 210 days in prison with credit for the 148 days he had already spent behind bars and ordered that he serve 48 months of probation with Adult Probation & Parole (AP&P) after his release.
"He'll be subject to group A sex offender conditions," he added. "He'll need to undergo and complete successfully sex offender treatment and therapy. He will also need to undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation and comply with any recommended treatment."