Description
A former youth leader for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was sentenced this week for possession of child pornography. He was also known to support Tim Ballard and his Operation Underground Railroad, which fights against child sex trafficking.
Erick Allen Mosteller, 58, was convicted after pleading guilty to two second-degree felony charges of child sexual exploitation. He was sentenced to 250 days in jail, and up to four years of probation.
He was originally charged with 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a child, which was shortened to two counts with the plea deal.
According to statements by Mosteller’s sister, he was invited to be involved in a movie premiere about Tim Ballard’s Operation Underground Railroad. He then discovered the “deep web” and downloaded information “not available to general web users.” She claims that as part of his research, he unintentionally downloaded child sex abuse material files.
However, court records state that Mosteller had been engaging in this type of activity for several years — he would allegedly download child porn, view it, and then delete it.
According to several statements made by those who knew Mosteller, he was an active member of the Church and a youth leader. The Church will not release a statement concerning Mosteller as there were no victims due to his leadership.
One of Mosteller’s friends reported that he was turned in by his wife, who then served Mosteller divorce papers the day after he was arrested. The statement made by his friend claims the entire thing was a “well-planned scheme” by his wife at the time to destroy his good name, while she slipped out of the marriage.
Mosteller will receive credit for time served and will be released from jail in approximately 6 months.