ABC4’s Salt Lake City After allegedly seducing a kid who turned out to be an undercover law enforcement officer, a former journalist for Deseret News was indicted on Friday.
Court filings state that 70-year-old Joseph Brent Walker tried to lure someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl into having sex with him. In reality, the 14-year-old was a Layton Police Detective working undercover.
Detective Travis Rapp of the Layton Police Department was using an online dating site to pretend to be a 14-year-old girl living in Davis County. Rapp had sexually explicit chats with a person online from July 18, 2025, until July 28, 2025.
By using the IP address that was used to send harmful and sexually suggestive materials to Rapp, the Layton Police Department was able to get a warrant and identify the person. The sexually damaging contents were sent from Joseph Brent Walker’s home in Washington County, and the IP address seemed to match his cell phone.
Up until 2013, Walker served as a journalist and in various capacities for Deseret News, according to their confirmation. According to the Deseret News, Walker wrote ValueSpeak, a weekly syndicated column that looked at current situations from the perspective of traditional values, from 1990 until at least 2015.
According to their website, he is currently employed by the Utah Department of Transportation as a Communications manager.
When reached by the Deseret Newson on Friday, Walker stated, “I am not aware of these charges.” I therefore have nothing to say.
Walker allegedly had sexually suggestive talks with Detective Rapp, whom he thought was a young girl. Walker allegedly told Rapp during those talks that the youngster had sexually aroused him and requested her to keep the communication private.
Detective Rapp allegedly repeatedly informed Walker that she was underage while assuming the identity of the female minor. Nevertheless, according to court filings, Walker provided pictures of himself that showed arousal even though he was dressed.
Joseph Brent Walker was charged with two counts of transmitting material harmful to minors, a third-degree felony, on August 22, 2025. In addition, he was accused of luring a juvenile, a third-degree felony.
Walker faces a maximum sentence of five years in jail for each offense if found guilty.
