A 40-year-old Tooele man charged with rape, abuse and exploitation of a child in Tooele County now faces similar charges in Uintah County — bringing the total felony charges against him to 19.

Peter Joseph Muehe was arrested in October, after the Utah Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force alerted the Tooele City Police Department that child pornography images were being downloaded at a residence on Vine Street in Tooele.

Officers made contact with Muehe, who was the main occupant of the residence, but he told them the images were unintentionally downloaded while he was surfing the Internet for other images, according to the probable cause statement.

Officers received consent from Muehe to search his desktop and laptop computers, and found several child pornography images. A search warrant was then obtained to extensively search the computers. Investigators found nearly 50 sexually explicit photos of Muehe with his niece and granddaughter, believed to be approximately 5 years old and 2 years old, respectively, at the time the photos were taken, according to Lt. Paul Wimmer of the Tooele City Police Department.

Further investigation revealed that some of the photos were taken when Muehe lived in Uintah County, and others were taken after Muehe moved to Tooele a year ago. One both occasions, the abuse took place at Muehe’s home.

“We had pictures of two different victims,” Wimmer said. “With one victim the abuse and crimes occurred here in Tooele, and with the other victim the abuse and crimes occurred in Uintah County.”

The Tooele County Attorney’s Office charged Muehe with first-degree felony rape of a child, first-degree felony aggravated sex abuse of a child, and 11 counts of sex exploitation of a minor — a second-degree felony.

Last Thursday, the Uintah County Attorney’s Office filed additional charges against Muehe as a result of the information passed on to them by Tooele City police investigators. Those charges include three counts of first-degree felony sex abuse of a child and three counts of second-degree felony sexual exploitation of a minor.

These child sex abuse charges aren’t the first against Muehe. In 1996, Muehe was charged with five counts of first-degree felony rape of a child and one count of second-degree felony sex abuse of a child in Salt Lake County. Those charges were dismissed a year later, however.

Court documents also show a first-degree felony child sex abuse case filed against Muehe in 1994 in Salt Lake County. That case was also dismissed.

Muehe is being held on a $580,000 bond. He will appear in court next on Jan. 6. Federal charges are pending.

Jamie Belnap: jamieb@tooeletranscript.com