Casper Man Accused of Exposing Himself to 10-Year-Old Girl, Sending Inappropriate Text Messages
A Casper man could face over four decades in prison if convicted of three sex crimes charged against him in Natrona County District Court.
Jason Lee Park, 37, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to three counts of third-degree sexual abuse of a minor. He could be sentenced to a maximum of 45 years in prison and $30,000 in fines if convicted on all counts.
Charging documents say in late March, a woman contacted a special agent with the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation and reported her ex-husband, Park, was sending disturbing text messages to her 13-year-old daughter.
The woman claimed Park was trying to convince the victim to send Park pictures of herself in her bra and underwear, adding that Park had already sent the victim a photo of himself in a state of arousal.
The DCI agent was already familiar with Park because of an April 2016 Casper Police Department investigation in which Park was suspected of sexually abusing a child.
An affidavit says the mother of the victim in the current case allowed agents to search the girl's cell phone. Agents discovered text messages between Park and the victim dating back to Nov. 1.
Park's number was saved in the victim's phone under "Chimo Jason."
In one conversation dated March 28, Park allegedly sent two pictures of himself to the victim, one of which depicted an "obvious bulge" below the waistband of his underwear. The conversation continued, with Park later asking, "What you think about pic." The victim responded with a picture of herself and a friend sitting on a couch casually, smiling, and then said "idk" -- an abbreviation for 'I don't know.'
Park then allegedly asked the victim if he could see a "more daring" picture and asked to, "see [her] butt in something real tight." Park allegedly also sent a picture of himself pulling up his shirt, exposing his underwear. In the photo, agents allege Park is clearly in a state of arousal beneath his underwear.
Park also reportedly told the victim to check her email. Agents searched her email and found thirteen emails Park allegedly sent the night of March 28. The emails contained photos of see-through underwear and "booty shorts," with Park asking the victim's opinion of the clothing and saying, "You think your butt would look good in these?"
In court documents, agents also highlight other text-based conversations between Park and the victim. One such conversation dated Dec. 27, 2015 included Park asking the victim, "Are you adventurous? Wanna take a pic of you what we were talking about earlier, then I'll show you something like when we camped on the mountain with [redacted] kids. Keep this to you [redacted]."
The victim replied, "No."
A third text conversation which began shortly after 1 a.m. on April 26, 2016, started with Park sending the victim photos of women in bikinis and saying, "Way cool, my favorite style, just shows a little bit of the butt check [sic] which I think is super hot."
"When I was looking at all the different swimsuits I was excited like the time up on Casper Mountain when we camped up there," Park continued. He also told the victim about going through puberty and the first time he touched himself.
"If you want to know anything [redacted] just ask, k," Park texted the victim. "Also if you want to see a video of what I'm talking about I can send one to you, I know your [sic] curious to figure it out. Everyone at your age is. We are humans."
"Well I never dealt with that but ok," the victim replied. Park then said, "Ok, I can show you, I know your [sic] curious."
"I'm not," the victim replied.
Investigating agents looked into the camping trip on Casper Mountain which Park mentioned. The victim's mother told agents she, Park, and seven children -- including the victim -- camped on Casper Mountain during the summer of 2013.
On April 4, 2017 the victim participated in a forensic interview at the Children's Advocacy Project in Casper. She reportedly described the 2013 camping trip and said at one point, her mother had to drive the two oldest girls down the mountain for soccer, leaving the rest of the children at the camp site with Park.
The group started to play hide-and-seek. The victim remembered Park was making dinner, and she was sneaking around the tent looking for the other children.
She could see Park with his back to her. Park then turned around, the victim said during the forensic interview, and pulled down his pants, exposing himself to her and shaking his hips.
The victim said she didn't want to look at Park's "downstairs," so she turned and ran.
After about twenty minutes, Park grabbed the girl by her arms and told her not to tell her mother. Park said if she told anyone, it would be the victim's fault that Park's marriage to her mother was ruined.
Park remains free on $20,000 bond pending trial.