AMERICAN FORK, Utah — A former adjunct professor at Utah Valley University and retired police officer from California was arrested on multiple child pornography charges in American Fork on Thursday.
Daniel Waddington, 68, was charged with one first-degree felony count of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and 10 second-degree felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.
A probable cause statement details that an investigation began in July 2023 when someone reported Waddington had tried to record a video of a 13-year-old girl showering through a crack in the door.
Though Waddington told the girl he was just recording the audio of her singing, the person who reported the incident to police later found child sexual abuse material on Waddington’s laptop.
Waddington’s phone and laptop were turned over to police, and after obtaining a search warrant, the items were forensically processed. More than 300 images and videos of child pornography were found on the devices, according to court documents.
Also recovered in the investigation was a photo shot up a woman’s dress or skirt in what appears to be a classroom at a local university, a probable cause statement reads.
FOX 13 News reached out to Utah Valley University, which confirmed Waddington was formerly employed at their school.
“We are aware of the charges against Daniel Waddington,” a statement from the university reads. “He was hired at UVU as a professor of Criminal Justice on August 17, 2015 and left employment on Aug. 31, 2021.”
“Although the picture does not display any nudity, the photograph violates what a reasonable expectation of privacy would be for an individual wearing a dress or a skirt,” court documents read in part.
Other photos of a child at the pool that were allegedly taken by Waddington were also recovered on the devices, according to court documents.
Documents also report that Waddington has “access to children and youth through a significant amount of avenues,” including his role sitting on the board of directors for Second Chance 4 Youth.
Waddington retired from law enforcement in Long Beach, California after working as an officer for more than 25 years, court documents detail.
He also “claims to have more than 40 years of domestic and international criminal justice experience,” a probable cause statement reads.
Due to his work and educational experience, he “may be more likely to flee” and thus, is being held in the Utah County jail without bail.
“It’s so discouraging… I really want to protect kids from this type of crime and this type of exploitation for them,” said Laurieann Thorpe, the executive director of Prevent Child Abuse Utah. “91% of the time when a child is sexually abused, it’s by someone that they know and trust.”
Thorpe adds that it doesn’t surprise her how involved Waddington was in the community. He was also on the board of directors for a program that helps at-risk youth and those in the juvenile justice system.
“It shouldn’t be shocking or surprising to u, that sometimes we have community members who are in a position of trust or in a position of authority in these matters, or just like maybe even having a lot of access to kids,” she said.
She also said cases like this shed light on why it’s important to work on prevention before the abuse even happens.
“Some of the things we know that do work are holding up families, having really honest, difficult conversations — not only with kids to help them learn to protect themselves, but with adults to say what you know, how can we provide support in those circumstances where there might be temptations,” she said.
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