Casper Man Allegedly Violates Probation In Child Pornography Case
A Casper man recently released from federal prison for child pornography crimes was arrested for violating the terms of his probation, a judge said Thursday.
Brett Swenson, 49, made his initial appearance Thursday to hear why he was arrested last week.
U.S. Magistrate Court Judge Michael Shickich, citing a probation officer's report, told Swenson he violated these terms about controlled substances, electronic devices and pornography on Dec. 14:
- He possessed drug paraphernalia that tested positive for marijuana.
- He possessed syringes in his bathroom that tested positive for methamphetamine.
- He possessed multiple electronic devices that had images of pornography.
Those convicted of sex crimes such as child pornography usually may not possess computers or access to the internet without strict regulations by their probation officers.
Those who violate the terms of their probation usually are detained unless they can show they will not flee and will not pose a danger to the community.
Shickich ordered Swenson to remain in custody until a formal hearing can be held on Jan. 9 to determine whether his probation will be revoked.
In August 2007, a jury convicted Swenson on three counts: attempted interstate distribution of child pornography, receipt of child pornography, and possession of child pornography.
U.S. District Court Judge Alan Johnson sentenced him to 140 months -- 11 years, eight months -- of imprisonment.
The case started in September 2006 when an agent with the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force found a computer was offering to distribute more than 600 files with at least 16 of them contained child pornography, according to a criminal complaint.
That computer belonged to Swenson, who was living on Cody Avenue in Casper.
When law enforcement officers were executing a search warrant at his residence, one interviewed Swenson who initially said he didn't know much about computers and only used one to play games. Swenson also said his brother recently had installed Limewire software to download music.
He then admitted he had downloaded images of child pornography, according to the criminal complaint. "Swenson stated he was downloading as much child pornography as he could and that he was planning to provide the images of child pornography to local law enforcement officials."
Officers seized a computer, discs, floppy diskettes, hard drives, a thumb drive and numerous VHS tapes.
An early forensic analysis of the computer revealed 924 images of what appeared to be child pornography and an additional 116 images in which the children were known by the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children.
The government regards child pornography as a crime of violence because it involves sometimes brutal assaults on children who cannot give consent to sexual activity.