Crime: 2020s,
Crime city:
UT - St. George,
Crime county:
Washinton,
Crime state:
Utah,
Convicted:
2023, - LDS mission:
unknown
Alleged:
1,
Alleged crime scenes:
Online,
Criminal case(s): Convicted,
updated Nov 20, 2025 - request update | add info
Mason William Holzendorf was a Mormon church member who was convicted of enticing a minor by internet or text on 1/25/2023, in St. George, Utah.
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FIFTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT – ST GEORGE DISTRICT COURT
WASHINGTON COUNTY, STATE OF UTAH
STATE OF UTAH vs. MASON WILLIAM HOLZENDORF
CASE NUMBER 201501725 State Felony
CHARGES
Charge 1 – 76-4-401(4)(A)(I) – ENTICE A MINOR BY INTERNET OR TEXT – 3rd Degree Felony
Offense Date and Time: August 31, 2020 at 12:08 AM
Location: Washington County
Attributes: Child.
Plea: December 01, 2022 Guilty
Disposition: December 01, 2022 Guilty
SENTENCE PRISON
Based on the defendant’s conviction of ENTICE A MINOR BY INTERNET OR TEXT a 3rd Degree Felony, the defendant is sentenced to an indeterminate term of not to exceed five years in the Utah State Prison.
The prison term is suspended.
ORDER OF PROBATION
The defendant is placed on probation for 48 month(s).
Probation is to be supervised by Adult Probation and Parole.
Defendant to serve 1 day(s) jail.
The Defendant shall obtain a psycho sexual evaluation within 60 days and follow any recommended treatment or counseling. Treatment shall be completed within 9 months.
The Defendant is to comply with Group A sex offender conditions.
The Defendant shall complete 100 hours of community service as ordered at the rate of not less than ten hours per month. No credit shall be allowed against the fine for this community service. First report due 3/1/2023
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Sources
- Mason William Holzendorf,
- Uncover sting operation in St. George leads to 12 arrests on suspicion of child trafficking, sexual exploitation ,
- So far 12 suspects arrested in St. George charged with child trafficking and sexual exploitation So far 12 suspects arrested in St. George charged with child trafficking and sexual exploitation So far 12 suspects arrested in St. George charged with child trafficking and sexual exploitation,
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1. Mason William Holzendorf
IMPORTANT OFFENDER DATA
Status : Active
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
DOB : 11/26/2000
Age : 24
Sex : Male
Height : 6'03''
Weight : 200
Race : White
Hair Color : Blonde
Eye Color : Blue
Scars & Tattoos:
Tattoo on R_arm (roses)
Tattoo on abdomen (birds)
Tattoo on Hip (Moon)
Tattoo on L_wrist (Rose)OFFENSES
Offense : 76-4-401 - ENTICING A MINOR/3RD DEGREE FELONY
Date Convicted : 01/25/2023
Conviction State : Utah
Statute : 76-4-401
Offense Details : J&C states: ENTICE A MINOR BY INTERNET OR TEXT - 3rd Degree Felony
Offense Count : 1REGISTRATION DETAILS
Collected From : Utah State Registry
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2. Uncover sting operation in St. George leads to 12 arrests on suspicion of child trafficking, sexual exploitation
ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4 News) — It’s the work that local law enforcement agencies believe is one of the most important things they can do: protecting children, the most vulnerable, in their communities. Authorities in southwestern Utah have arrested a dozen suspects on suspicion of child trafficking and sexual exploitation charges as a result of an aggressive sting operation set in motion at the beginning of the week.
Child Trafficking in UtahThe investigation began late Monday night when police were alerted by multiple individuals to the Craiglist ad, which implied those interested in spending time with children should respond via email. While Chief Blair Barfuss and Sgt. Ron Bridge with Dixie State University police lead the investigation, agents with the St. George Police Department and the FBI and Homeland Security also assisted.
“Here at Dixie State University, we don’t have the manpower or resources to thoroughly address this kind of investigation, so we had multiple task force members arrive from around the state,” Barfuss said. “While investigating the ad, we also did proactive work on social media apps and other avenues to look into whether there’s a significant problem in the St. George area for individuals wanting to meet up with children for sex.”
What’s Being Done to Stop Child Trafficking in Utah?Barfuss said the individual posting the ad was not one of the 12 people arrested because the statements were vague and unable to lead to a criminal charge. There were approximately 10 calls into police dispatch expressing concern about the ad, but more than 135 people responded to the email expressing interest in the services described, according to Barfuss.
Police say the arrests were not confined to race or socioeconomic status. The vast majority of those arrested were from the St. George area, and the suspects’ ages range from 19 to more than 70 years old. Authorities say the operation reveals there is a problem with child sex trafficking locally, but it’s not limited to St. George — the issue is prevalent throughout the country.
“We have open cases and we’re exploring those,” Barfuss said. “There’s a level that needs to be met for criminal prosecution, and the individuals who were arrested all clearly crossed that line multiple times in order for us to book them into jail and pursue charges against them.”
Do big events fuel human trafficking?Authorities say they established approximately 5 pre-planned locations familiar to all law enforcement agencies within about one mile of the Dixie State University police station, all of which have safety and contingency plans in place to plan the arrests. Police say they gave the individuals that engaged in illegal activity online the opportunity to come and meet the individual they thought was a child under the age of 14 to have sex with. This case and operation was specifically geared around sexual exploitation of minors, whether that be individuals that are sending illegal videos and images of themselves or soliciting that material, according to police.
Police arrested the following 12 individuals:
Mason Holzendorf, of St. George, faces a second-degree felony charge of enticing a minor (electronic).
Curtis Mills, of Cedar City, faces a second-degree felony charge of enticing a minor (electronic), contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and drug charges.
Donte Ford, of Tulare, California faces a third-degree felony charge of human trafficking, a third-degree felony charge of transporting contraband to jail, and drug charges. According to police, Ford allegedly traveled to St. George under the ploy he was meeting with a young woman in need of money and bringing her to Las Vegas to potentially become a prostitute.
Nathan Rose, of St. George faces a second-degree felony charge of enticing a minor (electronic).
Alex Bustos, of St. George faces a second-degree felony charge of enticing a minor (electronic).
Michael Erskine, of St. George faces a second-degree felony charge of rape of a child under the age of 14, a second-degree felony charge of enticing a minor (electronic), a third-degree felony charge of exploiting a minor (pornography), and a second-degree felony charge of criminal solicitation.
Skyler Carter of Cedar City faces a second-degree felony charge of enticing a minor (electronic), a third-degree felony charge of exploiting a minor (pornography), and obstruction of justice.
Joseph Cooke of Kanab faces a second-degree felony charge of rape of a child under the age of 14 and a second-degree felony of criminal solicitation.
Jacob Rogers of Las Vegas, Nevada faces a second-degree felony charge of enticing a minor (electronic), a third-degree felony charge of providing harmful material to a minor.
Adrian Hernandez of St. George faces a second-degree felony charge of rape of a child under the age of 14 and a third-degree felony charge of providing harmful material to a minor.
John Krampf, of Kane County, faces nine felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.
Ali Alnasser, of Cedar City, faces a second-degree felony charge of enticing a minor (electronic).Woman builds infrastructure of support for sex trafficking victims
Authorities served a search warrant at a Kane County residence of John Krampf, who police say was distributing thousands of images and videos of child pornography. Authorities are actively working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and other partners to compare the material to databases they have in place and determine if there are any new victims, according to Barfuss.
“We want to thank our community partners and the public for bringing this to our attention,” Barfuss said. “The big takeaway is that parents and community members need to remain vigilant and educate children about internet safety and resources to help us best have those conversations.”
Click here to download the ABC4 Utah News app for the first alerts on your phone. Sign up for the ABC4 Utah breaking news and daily newsletters. -
3. So far 12 suspects arrested in St. George charged with child trafficking and sexual exploitation So far 12 suspects arrested in St. George charged with child trafficking and sexual exploitation So far 12 suspects arrested in St. George charged with child trafficking and sexual exploitation
More than a dozen suspects were arrested between Monday and Wednesday for child trafficking and sexual exploitation of a minor following a sting operation in the St. George area.
It began with an ad posted on Craigslist implying that time could be spent with a child if they would respond by email.
Multiple calls from concerned individuals alerting police to the advertisement were made to police in the area.
More than 135 email responses were sent in response to the advertisement soliciting the services.
The high number of responses was a clear indication of a problem that would require additional resources.
Dixie State University Police, St. George Police Department, the FBI and Homeland Security took part in the investigations and arrests.
The sting operation included locations where the suspects could set up a meeting to have sex with children but police were waiting and the arrests were made.
A total of 12 individuals were arrested and taken into custody in Washington County, and one suspect was arrested in Kane County.
Moreover, there are two open cases involving suspects who did not show up at the predetermined location set by officers, so they were not arrested. However, they are now facing criminal charges for sending inappropriate images, or for similar offenses.
Suspects from Cedar City and as far away as California were arrested, charged and are now in the Purgatory Correctional Facility. There are still open cases.
The age of the suspects in the case ranged from 19-70 years old. There were some that responded to the advertisement but did not show up. These cases are also being investigated.
Mason Holzendorf of St. George was booked into jail on second-degree felony enticing a minor electronic crime. Curtis Mills of Cedar City was arrested that same night on one third-degree felony count of the same charge. Mills also faces one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and drug charges — each a misdemeanor.
On Tuesday, six suspects were arrested for second-degree felony enticing a minor electronic crime, including Alex Bustos, Nathan Rose and Micheal Erskine, all from St. George, as well as Skyler Carter of Cedar City, Jacob Rogers of Las Vegas, Nevada and Joseph Cooke of Kanab, who also faces second-degree felony rape of a child under 14.
Carter also faces one third-degree felony count of exploiting a minor — pornography, and a misdemeanor obstruction charge. Rogers also faces a third-degree felony charge of providing harmful material to a minor.
Erskine also faces felony rape of a child, criminal solicitation and third-degree felony count of providing harmful material to a minor.
Adrian Hernandez, also of St. George, was arrested for second-degree felony rape of a child under 14 and a third-degree felony charge of providing harmful material to a minor, as well as a misdemeanor drug charge.
Donte Ford. Ford has a long criminal history that includes human trafficking, weapons, drugs and other offenses that officers found.
That same night, a Cedar City man, Ali Alnasser, was arrested and booked on a second-degree felony count of enticing a minor — electronic crime.
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