(KUTV) SALT LAKE CITY - Utah authorities have arrested the self-proclaimed “King of Child Porn,” who was apparently tripped up by an identity theft scheme.
Police learned about Kirk Alan Swearingen, 45, after a Salt Lake City couple alerted them about a man wanting to rent a unit in their building – whose name and social security number seemed a little suspicious.
According to John and Betty Daley, who own an apartment building, Swearingen called them two weeks ago from San Francisco. He told them he was coming to Utah and was looking for a place to rent.
But Betty got suspicious when he gave out his social security number. She did some detective work and found that his name and social security number didn’t match.
The Daleys agreed to rent an apartment to Swearingen, and called the FBI. When the suspect showed up to claim his apartment, he was arrested for identity theft.
However, after further investigation authorities discovered that Swearingen has previously been arrested as an accused child sex predator. It turns out, he was wanted in a variety of states and had been on the run for 22 years.
“We could have been targets for this animal,” John Daley told 2News. “We are nice people. We would have let him into our lives. He could have abused our children too.”
The idea that Swearingen could have set up shop in Salt Lake City is painful for authorities to think about.
“He is one of the worst possible predators,” said Brett Tolman of the U.S Attorney’s office. “He’s very aware of what he’s doing. And he’s systematic.”
“We are concerned that he’s traveling throughout the country, either possibly molesting children… or being involved in production or distribution of child pornography,” Patrick Kiernan of the FBI told 2News.
“I got butterflies thinking about how close of a bullet we dodged,” John Daley added.
Investigators say they have found several CDs in Swearingen’s possession that contain child pornography. The suspect reportedly has used more than 30 aliases over the years, and officials say he was very good at deceiving people.
The FBI says at the current time, it is unclear exactly how many crimes Swearingen may have committed across the country – but he has previously been arrested in Colorado, South Dakota and New Mexico.
A California man who allegedly tried to rent a Salt Lake City apartment under a false identity was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury on charges of receipt and possession of child pornography.
Investigators say the man's true identity is Kirk Alan Swearingen, a 45-year-old former truck driver who is a fugitive wanted in Iowa on state charges of sexual abuse for allegedly molesting two minors in 2001. He is being held without bail on a federal charge of flight to avoid prosecution.
Swearingen was arrested Friday after an apartment complex owner suspected he was giving her a false Social Security number and called the FBI Identity Theft Task Force.
At first, Swearingen insisted to investigators that the Social Security number, which belonged to a 91-year-old man, was his, according to an affidavit by FBI Special Agent Jeff Ross. He then gave another fake name before finally revealing his true identity, Ross said.
The affidavit alleges that Swearingen described himself as the "king of child pornography" but denied having any illegal material and gave permission for a search of his belongings. Agents found compact discs containing numerous images of minors engaging in sexual acts, Ross alleges.
If convicted of the federal child pornography charges in Utah, Swearingen faces a 10-year mandatory minimum prison term on the possession count and a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence on the receipt count. He could get a maximum of 40 years.
The FBI affidavit says Swearingen's record shows a 1983 conviction for a sex offense against a child in Aurora, Colo.; a failure to appear in court after being charged in 1994 in Rapid City, S.D., with a sex offense against a minor, and a 1998 arrest in Gallup, N.M., on a charge of possession of child pornography. The disposition of the New Mexico case was unavailable.
Another FBI affidavit, filed in the Iowa case, said Swearingen also has a record of burglary and larceny. In addition, it alleged that Swearingen had used approximately 40 aliases in the past two decades.
Good job to the way smart couple for being suspicious of him. It's the people of the country that make the country work. Thankfully the authorities didn't "play this off" as a busy body call, and actually nabbed someone.The pervert needs to be dropped of on Antarctica...without any clothes or previsions.