Kenneth James Sasaki, 65, began serving a 10-year prison sentence Aug. 10. Page Police Department arrested and booked the Page man into Coconi­no County Jail Oct. 14, 2020. Sasaki was charged with 10 counts of sexual exploi­tation of a minor.

In a plea agreement in Coconino County Superior Court, Sasaki pled guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.

The investigation began when Utah Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force notified the Page Police Department of a possible child pornography case.

According to an Oct. 21 press release from the Page PD: “Our Criminal Inves­tigations Division opened an investiga­tion, which led to a search warrant being conducted in late July. Further investiga­tion and analysis of evidence collected from the search warrant led to the arrest of 64-year-old Kenneth Sasaki of Page.”

Before the investigation began, Sasa­ki was president of Gary Yamamoto Cus­tom Baits, one of Page’s largest employ­ers. A company represen­tative, who did not want to be named, told the Chron­icle, “When we were in­formed in July, the com­pany took immediate ac­tion and released Ken. We searched company equip­ment for any material. None was discovered, and we were never contacted by any law enforcement official asking to examine our computers.”

Sasaki was initial­ly charged with 10 counts of Arizona Statue 13-3553, sexual exploita­tion of a minor. Accord­ing to Arizona State Leg­islature, the statute applies to someone who com­mits sexual exploitation of a minor by knowingly:

Recording, filming, photographing, developing or duplicating any visual depiction in which a minor is engaged in exploitive exhibition or other sexual conduct.

Distributing, trans­porting, exhibiting, receiv­ing, selling, purchasing, electronically transmitting, possessing or exchang­ing any visual depiction in which a minor is engaged in exploitive exhibition or other sexual conduct.