SLC School Board member resigns; faces new charges in child exploitation case

Joél-Léhi Organista. Photo: Salt Lake City School Board SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, June 5, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — Joel-Lehi Organista, the Salt Lake City School Board member arrested Wednesday on child pornography charges, resigned his position Friday — the same day officials filed additional felony charges against him. Organista, 29, now faces charges of: Object rape of a child, a first-degree felony (filed Friday) Sexual exploitation of a child as a first-degree felony (filed Friday) Nine counts of sexual exploitation of a child as a second-degree felony (one filed Friday, eight filed Wednesday) The child rape charge related to a Snapchat video recorded after Organista allegedly directed a pre-teen victim to take specific inappropriate actions. Organista is being held without bail. “During a post Miranda interview, Jose Lehi Organista admitted to having downloaded, viewed, and kept the images and videos containing child pornography in his Dropbox account,” his probable cause statement says, adding that one video showed abuse of a girl of about 5. During the service of a search warrant at Organista’s address, officers located electronic devices including an iPhone, an iPad and an iMac Mini, and allegedly found a Snapchat account where Organista was communicating with children identifying…
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