Blanding man arrested for unlawful sexual contact with 16-year-old while in ‘secret relationship'
BLANDING, Utah () — A Blanding man has been arrested for allegedly having a 'secret relationship' with a 16-year-old and encouraging her to send him explicit sexual photos, which are considered child sexual abuse material (CSAM) due to her age.
Kerry Dean Benally, 30, was booked into the San Juan County Jail on five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, five counts of distributing material harmful to a minor, and five counts of unlawful sexual contact with a 16 to 17-year-old. Charges have not been formally filed by the county attorney yet.
According to court documents, on June 4, 2025, a 16-year-old victim was interviewed at the Children's Justice Center after the Blanding Police Department was made aware of a possible sex offense committed against her by a 30-year-old man. The victim told police that she had been communicating and spending time with Benally.
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The 16-year-old stated that she had been speaking with Benally through Instagram, and that she had spent 'a couple of nights over' with Benally at his family member's trailer. Documents say that she would not go into detail about those nights, but did confirm they had slept in the same bed.
Documents say that the victim was told that she and Benally 'needed to keep their relationship a secret from other people.' The usernames for Benally and the 16-year-old were obtained, and the Blanding Police Department filed a search warrant.
Two days later, on June 6, the search warrant for the Instagram accounts was returned. In the messages, police located CSAM created of the teenage victim, as well as explicit sexual photos Benally sent to the victim of himself.
Throughout the conversation, Benally repeatedly asked the victim for sexual photos and had explicit conversations with her. He also discussed the five times that they had met in person, and spoke about having illegal sexual relations with the minor during those times.
On Aug. 12, an officer with the Blanding Police Department was 'able to locate Kerry [Benally] while he was driving.' The officer knew that Benally had a warrant for a previous incident, and was driving without a valid driver's license.
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The Blanding Police officer arrested Benally and brought him to the San Juan County Jail. When they arrived, the officer began asking questions about his 'relationship' with the 16-year-old victim.
Benally allegedly stated that he 'knew of her' and was 'talking to her a little bit' through Instagram. Through further questioning, Benally admitted that they had started talking in February, but claimed he stopped talking to her when he 'found out how old she was.' He also claimed she once told him she was 19.
The 30-year-old told the officer that while she was at his family member's trailer, he had gone home and let her stay there alone. The officer told Benally that he had the messages between them and 'confronted him about lying.' Benally admitted that he knew the victim was 16 and that he had continued sending and receiving graphic sexual photos despite her age.
Benally was booked into the San Juan County Jail, where he is currently being held without bail.
Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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