A $200 Craigslist ad for a white velvet channel-tufted platform bed in Salt Lake City turned into a criminal investigation after police say the listing included photographs of a young girl, who appeared to be about 12 years old, posed provocatively on the furniture. That tip led detectives to 22-year-old Miles Andrew Anderson, who was arrested on investigation of 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and obstruction of justice.
According to KSL.com, Salt Lake City police opened the investigation after receiving a report about the suspicious circumstances surrounding the ad. The listing itself read, per an affidavit cited by the outlet: “great super fun bed, all inclusive! plenty you can do with it but be fragile, for rent reach out personally for prices if the one pictured isn't ideal we have options!” Police say the wording, paired with the photos, led them to conclude Anderson was seeking child sexual abuse material rather than simply selling furniture.
Tracing the Ad Back to a Suspect
Investigators served a warrant on the email account tied to the Craigslist post, and detectives traced the advertisement to Anderson. The station's report notes that police believe Anderson obtained the photographs used in the ad from someone else, though the affidavit does not spell out where or from whom.
Before meeting with detectives, Anderson allegedly deleted files from all folders in his account, including the recently deleted folder, according to the affidavit. He reportedly told investigators he deleted the material because he knew he would be speaking with police and was scared about what they would find, per the same account.
Gmail Videos and a WhatsApp Message
Despite the deletions, Anderson's Gmail account still contained more than 10 videos described in the affidavit as child sexual abuse material. His phone also held a WhatsApp message from April asking whether someone had similar material to trade, the affidavit states.
Anderson offered his own explanation to investigators, according to the affidavit: he claimed he had stumbled upon child sexual abuse material and downloaded it in bulk in order to make a “predator poaching” post, then deleted most of the files afterward. Police have not said whether they found evidence supporting that explanation, and the affidavit as reported does not indicate whether Anderson actually had a bed for sale.
Part of a Broader Pattern in Utah
Utah's Internet Crimes Against Children task force has flagged an alarming volume of similar activity in recent years. The unit received 916 referrals from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in 2018 alone and conducted more than 12,000 investigations that year, according to Deseret News. Task force commander Jessica Farnsworth described the trend bluntly at the time, saying, “We are seeing a terrible trend in our state right now.”
A 2019 undercover operation run by the task force led to 13 arrests and 48 criminal counts tied to alleged efforts to sexually exploit children, Deseret News reported, with 11 of those charged believing they were communicating with and planning to meet a child between the ages of 11 and 13. Not every case ends in conviction, however — The Salt Lake Tribune reported that a separate Utah man accused of planning to sexually abuse a child later had his charges dropped after he said he was tricked by an undercover officer. That case is unrelated to Anderson's arrest.
The Anderson case remains under investigation, and the available reporting does not address his attorney, a court docket, or the current status of the charges against him.
