The mother allegedly told police she watched her daughter being abused by a registered sex offender on September 3 and also sent him explicit videos of her daughter in exchange for money.
A 38-year-old woman from Provo, Utah, has been arrested and charged with 76 child sex crimes involving her 10-year-old daughter. She is being held in Utah County Jail. Chris Seamann, a 52-year-old registered sex offender, was also arrested in Mesquite, Nevada.
The mother’s name has not been released to protect the victim’s identity. Seamann has been on the National Sex Offender Registry since 1993 due to a conviction for sexual assault in Nebraska.
According to KTVX, the mother is facing 76 charges in total. Of these, 42 are for serious crimes related to human trafficking of a child. She is also charged with 30 counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, 2 counts of sodomy on a child, and 2 counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child.
Chris Seamann has been charged with first-degree felony sodomy on a child, first-degree felony rape of a child, three counts of second-degree felony sexual abuse of a child, and third-degree felony lewdness involving a child. He was arrested in Mesquite, Nevada, on September 6, and police have requested an extradition warrant to bring him to Utah.
Police were alerted by a tip from Kik, an online messaging app, which led to their investigation. The woman was allegedly sending explicit videos of herself and her daughter to Seamann, according to arrest documents.
Working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), Provo police checked the mother’s social media accounts and found that her daughter looked like the girl in the videos, which helped them build their case.
When questioned, the woman admitted she used Kik for adult activities and to get attention from someone who wasn’t bullying her. She did not deny knowing Seamann and, in fact, confirmed it.
According to the authorities, the woman said she and her daughter had met Seamann around 10 times over the past five to six years. She told police that Seamann would buy her daughter gifts and treats in exchange for sexual acts, and sometimes gave her extra money to pay for hotel rooms.
She also mentioned that Seamann would make her daughter do these things and threatened her in a vague way, saying he would “do what he needs to do.” The woman admitted to taking pictures and videos of her daughter for Seamann for years.
The woman claimed that Seamann would send her gifts and money for the videos, but she also told police she was afraid for her safety if she didn’t follow his demands. Police found out there were 41 transactions between them, including one where Seamann paid in cash.
She told police their most recent meeting happened on September 3 at a hotel in Springville. She described the event in detail, saying she was just watching from a bench in the hotel room.
The mother said Seamann usually paid her $20 for each session with her daughter. On September 3, he gave her a laptop and $125.
The investigation is still ongoing.
If you know about or are experiencing child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or visit www.childhelp.org. If you think a child is in immediate danger, call 911.
