‘Squatty Potty’ creator federally indicted for purchasing child sexual abuse material
The Utah entrepreneur Robert “Bobby” Edwards, 50, the founder of squatty potty, was federally indicted on Feb. 10 on a count of receipt of child pornography and arrested two days later in Washington County, Utah; he pleaded not guilty at an initial appearance and was ordered held without bail by Judge Paul Kohler in St. George.
Federal indictment, arrest and initial court action
Edwards was indicted by a federal grand jury on Feb. 10 and arrested on Feb. 12 in Washington County, Utah, on the single count of receipt of child pornography. At his first court appearance he entered a not guilty plea and Judge Paul Kohler ordered him detained without bail in St. George.
Undercover agent joined Zoom screening in March 2021
Prosecutors say the FBI began investigating Edwards in 2021 when an undercover agent joined a group chat used to trade child pornography and followed a Zoom link into a virtual meeting room in March 2021 where attendees were watching child sexual abuse videos; participants were visible and the agent identified a user later linked to Edwards through a matching image and an IP address that placed him in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Payments flagged in May and link to U. K. distributor
In May 2025, PayPal flagged four transactions tied to accounts prosecutors later connected to Edwards, and investigators say those transactions were between Edwards and John Carver, a United Kingdom man who was arrested days later and ultimately convicted for distributing the materials and blackmailing buyers; court documents allege Carver advertised illicit content on Telegram, sent PayPal links for payment and then sent links to purchased files, and sometimes distributed material in Zoom meetings.
November search found recently downloaded files and chat messages
Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Edwards’ home on Nov. 4, 2025, and investigators said they found a cell phone in his vehicle that contained multiple videos and images of child sexual abuse material, some downloaded onto the phone roughly two weeks before the search; agents also found additional images and messages in the home, including a chat message attributed to Edwards that reads, “Hey brother, Id love to perv but into most all jiust not into babies. 5+ is preferred[. ]”
Background: business rise, sale and other legal issues
Edwards founded The Squatty Potty with his mom, dad and brother in 2011, the Washington County Historical Society says, and other accounts describe the product as created in the early 2010s; the family fashioned the stool after a doctor advised Edwards’ mother that raising her knees on the toilet could ease longtime constipation. The device appeared on The Doctors in 2012 and Edwards pitched it on Shark Tank two years later, making a deal with investor Lori Greiner in 2014 and generating $12. 3 million in sales within three months of that appearance.
The product’s marketing grew after an ad featuring the brand’s mascot Dookie the unicorn that was viewed 42 million times, and Aterian, Inc. purchased Squatty Potty in 2021 for $19 million; the company reported more than 8 million stools sold as of 2022. The brand issued a statement saying all associations with Edwards ceased after the acquisition, that references to his family’s role were removed from the “Our Story” page, and that the company was deeply disturbed by the indictment.
Separately, court records show Edwards pleaded guilty to drug-related offenses in Utah’s 5th District Court in November 2023 and enrolled through a private probation company for two years of supervision; in statements to agents he said he had no recollection of viewing child pornography, said he was addicted to methamphetamine and receiving treatment, and said he was living off money from the Squatty Potty sale plus “some Bitcoin. ”
What is scheduled next is unclear in the provided context.
