Child Sexual Abuse Material / Sex Tourism

1258: Kenneth Richens

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Kenneth Merlin Richens

Kenneth Merlin Richens was the head of Ken and Darlene Richens Family Education Initiatives Inc. News reports name him and his wife as owners, but no one owns a nonprofit. As it raised and disbursed no money according to Guidestar. It is an unsuccessful nonprofit or perhaps just an excuse to spend time with children under color of charity. He was also an LDS missionary and Central Valley Medical Center in Nephi, Utah. He has pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material.

He was searched at SeaTac and Child Sexual Abuse Material was found on his phone. He was charged with ten counts of possession of CSAM. He pleaded guilty to two in an agreement dropping the other eight. Sentencing is scheduled for March 19, 2024.

He is suspected of sex tourism. He has traveled to the Philippines forty-nine times since 2011. He has also traveled to Thailand and Cambodia. All three countries are places where children are frequently trafficked for sexual abuse.

Person Location Voter Details Kenneth M Richens Residential Address: Nephi Ut 84648 Mailing Address: Party Affiliation: Republican Party Registered to Vote In: Juab County, UT Voter Status: Active
T. GEORGE — A suspect charged with 10 felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor recently was arrested in St. George. 2016 file photo for illustrative purposes only of officers in search of an individual in St. George, Utah, Dec. 8, 2016 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News Kenneth Merlin Richens, 60, of Nephi, was booked into jail in Washington County on Thursday facing 10 second-degree felony charges of sexual exploitation of a minor. Charges were filed by Assistant Utah Attorney General Carl Hollan, according to charging documents filed in 4th District Court in Juab County last week. The suspect was arrested in St. George on May 4 just hours after the no-bail warrant was issued, according to court records.
St. George News: Man allegedly involved in child sex tourism arrested in St. George
Homeland Security Investigation agents received information in March indicating that Richens was involved in “sex tourism,” according to the affidavit filed in support of the suspect’s arrest issued last week. In the affidavit, Homeland Security Investigator Holden Fielding defined sexual tourism as “criminal conduct that takes place when a person travels to another country or nation where children are commonly trafficked for sexual abuse for the purpose of sexually abusing the children living in those nations.” Fielding noted that evidence emerged indicating that Richens had gone to the Philippines 49 times since 2011. Agents determined the suspect had traveled to other southeastern Asian countries known to be associated with sex tourism, including Thailand and Cambodia.
n fact, over a two-month period starting in September of last year, Richens “intentionally produced, possessed, or possessed with intent to distribute” images depicting the sexual abuse of children, or that he viewed the material, the report states. On March 30, Richens arrived at SeaTac International Airport in Seattle, Washington, on a return flight from the Philippines and was searched by border agents who recovered a cell phone that was seized by police. A forensic analysis of the cell phone revealed that the files associated with the sexual abuse of children were already stored on the device prior to the suspect’s trip to the Philippines and that Richens was in possession of the illicit files while still in Nephi.
In the affidavit, Fielding stated that child sex abuse imagery, along with the downloading, collecting, viewing and sharing of these materials causes harm to children. He went on to write that “the continued circulation and each new publication of the recorded image of sexual abuse inflicted on a child causes a new injury.” Stock image for illustrative purposes only of Department of Homeland Security agents | Photo courtesy of the Department of Homeland Security, St. George News The defendant reportedly held multiple positions of trust within the community, in addition to the suspect’s ties to an international charity organization that provides educational support for children in Cambodia and the Philippines – where the defendant would also have contact with children that are “particularly susceptible to sexual abuse.”
The report states the images depicted the sexual assault and abuse of children as young as 3 years of age. On May 4, law enforcement officers executed a warrant upon Richens’ Nephi residence, and while they did not find Richens there at the time, authorities had reason to believe the suspect was still in Utah. Fielding forwarded the affidavit in support of the arrest warrant to the Utah Attorney General’s Office and a warrant was issued for Richens’ arrest. St. George Police Officer Tiffany Mitchell told St. George News the search of the home in Nephi led agents to St. George. From there, agents in Juab County contacted detectives in St George who spotted the suspect’s vehicle. The Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Force was deployed to the location and found the suspect who was taken into custody without incident.
Richens was transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility where he remains in custody without bail — a no-bail hold that was put in place based on several factors, as noted by the agent in the affidavit. Fielding wrote that Richens poses a substantial flight risk since he has numerous ties to foreign nations where agents say he “has previously traveled internationally to sexually abuse children,” and the request to hold the defendant without bail was approved by the courts. The defendant has retained Gregory G. Skordas, a defense attorney out of Salt Lake City, and an initial appearance took place in 4th District Court in Juab County on Tuesday. This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

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