LDS Church leaders didn't report man who confessed to making child porn, docs say

 A Utah man turned himself into law enforcement for viewing, making and distributing child pornography after his local church leaders failed to report it after his confession, court documents state. 

Bejamin Alyk contacted the Davis County Attorney's Office in 2018. He confessed to making and distributing child pornography when he was a teenager, according to documents obtained by Truth and Transparency Foundation, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to promoting transparency within religious institutions.

Alyk said he viewed, made and distributed child pornography from the time he was 14 to 17. He also said he confessed to local leaders for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on at least two separate occasions. One time was eight months before he turned himself in. The leaders didn't report the information to law enforcement, court documents obtained by 2News state. 

Alyk said he came across a website where people could share inappropriate images. A year or so later, the website required him to share new child porn in order to get it in return, Ryan McKnight with TTF reported.

Documents state Alyk would take videos of his cousins, ages 4 and 6, going to the bathroom with the door open. He said he used these videos to trade for child porn online. Alyk told investigators he deleted the videos after distributing them.

For Christmas, Alyk received a Gopro camera, which he would remotely control from an app on his phone. He told police he set the camera under the closet door in the bathroom to capture videos of children going to the bathroom, court document state. The children were all between the ages of 4 and 6, and attended his parents' daycare, which is no longer operated at their residence.

Salt Lake Temple in Spring - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Photo: Jon Shuppy)

Alyk said he continued to view child porn until the age of 16 or 17. He started to view adult porn before he left on his mission for the Church, court documents state. 

While serving in the Dominican Republic, Alyk told his mission president about the crimes. Alyk was immediately sent home from his mission and went before a disciplinary council with local church leaders in June 2017. He told investigators he disclosed all of the information and details of the crimes to both his mission president and the council. According to Alyk, the church didn't report the incident to law enforcement, according to TTF.

Alyk pleaded guilty to six counts of voyeuristic image distribution and two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, according to documents obtained by TTF.