Courchane Sentenced To 3-5 Years For Child Pornography Possession

A Natrona County man was sentenced to a three- to five-year sentence with a boot camp recommendation for one count of possession of child pornography during a hearing in Natrona County District Court on Monday.

Nathan Courchane, who was 19 at the time of his arrest, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography in November. A second count of possessing child pornography with intent to distribute was dismissed.

During the sentencing, Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Hambrick and Courchane's attorney Dylan Rosalez told District Court Judge Daniel Forgey that Courchane was young, had virtually no criminal history, and was very remorseful.

"This is an individual who can be rehabilitated and is highly motivated to do so," Rosalez said.

The case began in November 2013 when investigators with the Natrona County Sheriff’s Office say they received a tip through the Wyoming Department of Criminal Investigation. Microsoft Corp. contacted the sheriff's office about an image of child pornography that had passed through one of their computer servers.

Microsoft provided an email and an IP address of the suspect, and both were traced back to Courchane.

When interviewed he admitted to receiving and requesting photos of children, and said he was going through a phase at the time, but had moved past it.

Investigators later found out that a total of 23 images of children between 3 and 13 years old were sent or received by Courchane by his cell phone between July 2013 and January 2014.