Man in child porn case also took photos of kids in their yards, police say

Anddrew John Lyon, 33, of Sandy | Utah Department of Corrections

SALT LAKE CITY — A registered sex offender was arrested Monday by members of the Internet Crimes Against Child task force.

After his arrest, Anddrew John Lyon, 33, of Sandy, told investigators that he also had been taking pictures of children in their own yards, according to a police affidavit.

The investigation began in January when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children found child pornography on an electronic storage account, the affidavit states. About 1,500 photos were eventually found in the file.

Police served a search warrant at Lyon’s residence on Monday. Lyon “admitted to using chatting applications and requesting links to pornography depicting young children,” the affidavit states. “He would then delete the chatting application because he felt guilty, but would eventually return and continue to download child pornography.”

Furthermore, Lyon “admitted, although legal, to taking voyeuristic images of neighborhood children as they played in their yards. He would also see children in the store and have brief fantasies about them as well,” according to the affidavit.

Lyon was arrested for investigation of 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. Police asked that he be held without bail “or high bail, due to the fact that Anddrew Lyon is a lifetime registered child sex offender who is still currently fantasizing about children with whom he still has access,” according to the affidavit.

In 2012, Lyon was convicted of amended charges of attempted aggravated sexual abuse of a child and sexual abuse of a child. He was given a suspended prison sentence, ordered to serve some time in jail and placed on four years of probation, according to court records.

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