American Fork police arrest former officer, professor in child porn bust

AMERICAN FORK, Utah, Aug. 4, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Police arrested a prominent 68-year-old amid a child pornography investigation, lamenting the fact he’s a former police officer.

In announcing the arrest Thursday, American Fork police said Daniel Waddington was also a former professor at a local university and possibly once worked for the U.S. State Department.

Waddington was booked into the Utah County Jail on suspicion of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and a myriad of other charges of sexual exploitation of a minor, short of aggravating circumstances.

Investigation began last month when parents reported to police Waddington had attempted to film a 13-year-old girl taking a shower. He allegedly propped his cellphone up against a wall to record the young girl through a crack in the door, police said. She observed this and reported it to her parents.

The parents then obtained Waddington’s laptop computer, phone and USB drive, which they brought to police. They claimed they contained child pornography, which was later confirmed after search warrants were obtained for the devices, according to AFPD.

The parents said they had confronted Waddington, who allegedly said that he had a “problem” with child pornography, police said.

All three items were forensically processed. “As a result of this, investigators recovered at least 300 images and/or videos of what appeared to contain child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in that many of the images involved what appeared to be pre-pubescent children.

“Investigators also recovered images of the 13-year-old victim with no clothes on in the bathroom.

“It appears that Waddington had video-recorded the victim but then deleted the video upon getting caught. Only images were able to be recovered from the phone through processing but not video.”

AFPD went on at length in their online announcement of the arrest as to officers’ reactions:

“Words cannot adequately express the profound feelings of frustration, anger, and discouragement we feel as a department for Waddington’s alleged actions.

“The great majority of law enforcement officers do everything possible to represent that which is good, to protect the innocent, to serve all members of our communities, and to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

“For a former law enforcement officer and someone who is known so well locally, nationally, and internationally in the criminal justice world to be involved in such activity is the purest form of betrayal to all law enforcement officers and the values we strive to keep affixed to the badge.

“Lamentably, the ripples of this case will surely be felt throughout many locations of the world.”

Waddington is a retired law enforcement officer from the Long Beach City Police Department in California, and is believed to have been a law enforcement officer for over 25 years.

“Waddington also told investigators he worked for the United States Department of State until June of 2023. Waddington traveled often and his LinkedIn biography indicates he has engaged in extensive law enforcement training and consulting in at least eight other countries across Europe, South America, Asia, and Africa.”

For approximately six years, Waddington worked as an adjunct professor for a local university, the department said without naming the university.

American Fork police ask any members of the public who may have had any contact with Waddington that resulted in any form of perceived abuse or other alleged inappropriate conduct to call 801-763-3020.