Lone Tree man downloaded, distributed more than 200,000 sexual images of children

A Lone Tree man took a deal and pleaded guilty last week to sexually exploiting children after downloading and distributing more than 200,000 sexual images of minors, judicial officials said.

Daryl Joe, 69, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of a child with intent to sell or publish, court records show. The deal dropped eight additional charges of sexual exploitation of a child from his case.

Lone Tree investigators received a tip about child sexual abuse material being traced to a computer at Joe’s address from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in March of last year, according to a news release from the 23rd Judicial District.

At least five videos confiscated during the investigation showed children under the age of 12, according to a probable cause statement from the police department.

“The investigation revealed that Joe possessed hundreds of thousands of images of children, toddlers and babies, including images of them being sexually assaulted,” judicial officials stated in the release. “He later admitted to possessing and distributing these sexually explicit images.”

Lone Tree officers executed a search warrant at Joe’s apartment on Oct. 7, 2024, according to the probable cause statement.

Joe was questioned at the police station, where he admitted to uploading, viewing, downloading and distributing the photos and videos on multiple online platforms and apps, police said in the document. He said he deleted the child sexual abuse material a year before.

Police said Joe had multiple conversations online where he discussed fantasies about having sex with his siblings and future daughters.

Officers arrested Joe “for the safety of the children in the community, as well as the child in his home.”

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