SALT LAKE CITY — A former member of the Salt Lake County School Board was sentenced to prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to child pornography charges.
Joél-Léhi Organista, 29, did not speak at his state sentencing hearing in Salt Lake City where he learned he will serve one term of 15 years to life for aggravated sexual abuse of a minor, and another term of one to 15 years for enticing a minor. Both sentences will run concurrently in federal prison due to Organista facing a federal sentencing hearing on May 17.
In a plea agreement announced Jan. 10, Organista admitted to using social media to contact minors and soliciting them to perform sexual acts. He also admitted to downloading up to 150 images of prepubescent minors.
Organista was charged in June 2021 after a search warrant was issued and he was found to be in possession of child pornography on a Dropbox account following a tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's CyberTipLine
Organista, who was elected to represent Precinct 1, resigned from his position, along with being removed as Vice President of Youth at the League of United Latin American Citizens.
In an exclusive interview with FOX 13 in December 2019, Organista promised to restore professionalism to the Salt Lake City School District after his election.
