The multimillionaire creator of “Squatty Potty” was hit with federal charges in Utah for allegedly buying countless child sex abuse materials, according to authorities.
Robert Edwards, 50, was arrested for allegedly buying and receiving a trove of images of child sexual abuse material between March 2021 and November 2025, the US Attorney’s Office in the District of Utah announced on Monday.
The entrepreneur and co-founder of the specialized toilet stool that’s designed to ease bowel movements was indicted by a federal grand jury on Feb. 10, and cuffed in Washington County two days later, authorities said.
In March 2021, an undercover FBI agent joined a group chat used to trade child sexual abuse material. In the group chat, there was a meeting room where members viewed a collection of the vile content being streamed on a main screen, federal authorities detailed.
Participants, including a user later identified as Edwards, were visible in the meeting, according to the DOJ.
In May 2025, FBI agents also learned that Edwards may have purchased additional child sexual abuse material through his PayPal account, which was flagged for four suspicious transactions.
In November, law enforcement executed a search warrant on Edwards and his home and confiscated a cellphone from his vehicle that “contained multiple videos and images of child sexual abuse material,” some of which was downloaded only two weeks prior, officials alleged.
Authorities then seized additional devices and allegedly discovered more child sex abuse material files at the Squatty Potty pioneer’s residence.
He pleaded not guilty to receipt of child pornography charges during his initial court appearance on his indictment and was ordered held without bail by Judge Paul Kohler in St. George, authorities said.
Edwards co-founded Squatty Potty in 2011 to address his mother, Judy’s, constipation issues. The mother-son duo successfully pitched the footstool for aiding bathroom business to investor Lori Greiner on “Shark Tank.”
The product turned the Utah family into multimillionaires, according to a CNBC article profiling the company.
Edwards will return to court on March 2 for a detention hearing.
