Luke Horneck Waives Preliminary Hearing In Custodial Interference Case

The case involving a Casper man accused of helping a California teen runaway from her family, and bringing her to Wyoming, has been moved to Natrona County District Court.

Twenty-two year old Luke Horneck has waived his preliminary hearing, in a case where he has been charged with one count of custodial interference and one count of sexual exploitation of a minor.

Investigators with the Casper Police Department, say on Sunday evening (September 13th), officers were asked to do a welfare check at a residence on Wolcott Street.

They had been contacted by a California man who said a 14-year-old girl had runaway, and maybe with Horneck in the Casper area.

Officers were able to track down a friend of Horneck, who had told him he was going to California to pick up the girl, and then found out the girl was listed in the National Crime Information Center as a missing person and endangered runaway.

Horneck and the girl were later found at a hotel.

When interviewed, both Horneck and the girl told detectives and an FBI agent that they had been friends for more than one year, and put the runaway plan together back in August.

Horneck drove to California and picked up the girl and brought her to the Cowboy State.

The plan was to stay at Horneck's place until she was ready to return home, and a hotel room was a backup plan.

Horneck admitted that he knew the girl was a teenager and picked her up to get her away from a bad family situation.

He is being held on $15,000 bond awaiting trial, and could face up to five years in prison on the custodial interference charge, and five-to-12 years in prison on the sexual exploitation of a minor charge if convicted.