25-year sentence imposed for Crowheart man convicted of sexually abusing minor

CASPER, Wyo. — A Crowheart, Wyoming, man was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for sexual abuse of a minor, the U.S. Justice Department from the District of Wyoming announced Thursday.

Quinlin James Hernandez, 32, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl on Wednesday, March 5 in Casper.

According to court documents, the victim, a 14-year-old girl, had been reported missing for over two days and was found at Hernandez’s residence in Crowheart. She told forensic investigators Hernandez and other minors picked her up on April 10, 2024, without the knowledge of her guardians, the release said. Hernandez drove to a liquor store, where he bought alcohol, and then drove the minors to his residence, where they all drank alcohol.

“Hernandez began flirting with and making sexual advances toward the minor victim,” the U.S. Justice Department said. “The minor victim was at Hernandez’s residence for approximately two and a half days, during which Hernandez forced himself on the minor victim, sexually abusing her twice.”

The girl was able to text her grandmother to come pick her up at Hernandez’s residence. The victim underwent a Sexual Assault Nurse Examination and Hernandez’s DNA was found on her clothing.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs Wind River Police Department and the FBI investigated this crime. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kerry Jacobson prosecuted the case.

This case was brought about by Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet and to identify and rescue victims.

– U.S. Justice Department