DRIGGS — A registered sex offender has been charged after hospital staff reported explicit images involving children on the man’s phone.

Dennis Joe Empey, 67, faces felony possession and distribution of child porn charges, two felony child sexual battery charges through solicitation and two misdemeanors for disseminating materials to minors.

Empey is a registered sex offender, and according to the Idaho Sex Offender Registry, it stems from charges in Provo, Utah, from 1991.

A hospital worker contacted a detective with the Teton County Sheriff’s Office on Dec. 26 when Empey tried to show them a photo of a wound.

During this, the worker saw a photo when Empey was swiping through photos of a shirtless boy between 8 to 12 years old, but couldn’t see if the boy was naked. Empey swiped again

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