SANDY, Utah (KUTV) — Police serving a search warrant during an investigation involving child pornography at a Sandy, Utah in-home daycare said they discovered drugs inside.
The discovery led to the Salt Lake County Health Department closing the home and business down Monday morning.
Sandy police said the search warrant was from Internet Crimes Against Children with the district attorney's office.
Officers did not specify who the search warrant was for, but they detained an individual.
Due to the active investigation that the district attorney's office is handling, police also couldn't share what kind of drugs were found.
Sandy police said the drugs were found in a portion of the home that is separate from the daycare.
As of Monday morning, “Kellys Daycare” is no longer operational.
Police said the search warrant was separate but related to an earlier investigation into child pornography at the residence.
The earlier case involved the daycare owner’s son, Marcus Strebel, who is scheduled to appear in court next week.
New court documents show Strebel intends to take a plea deal and plead guilty to felony-related charges of sexual exploitation of a minor.
If Strebel takes the plea deal from the D.A., the 10 counts against him will be lowered to two. Each count holds up to 15 years in prison.
The big question many are asking following the raid on Monday is why the daycare was allowed to stay open with the son connected to the residence facing felony porn charges related to minors.
Sandy police Sgt. Clay Swensen shared the following statement:
Due to the fact that the investigation that brought those formal charges occurred separately from the daycare and the operation there the determination was made by the state licensing division. The police department doesn’t have much to do with that, we filed the charges that were appropriate and the daycare was allowed to continue to operate.
The State Health Department deals with daycare licensing. Charla Haley with the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) released the following statement:
“The UDOH conducted a full investigation into a complaint received against the provider earlier this year. No evidence was discovered during the investigation to substantiate the claims made in the complaint. The provider was caring for fewer than five children, and as a result, was not required to be licensed. However, the provider maintained a full child care license voluntarily. This allows the UDOH to have access to the facility and to provide regulatory authority."