Casper man pleads guilty in Wyo, fed courts to sex crimes with girl he drove to Arizona

CASPER, Wyo. — A Casper man is facing up to 45 years’ imprisonment for six crimes related to the sexual abuse of a young teenage girl, according to his guilty plea Tuesday before a Natrona County District Court judge.

James Warren Martin, born in 1986, also faces a concurrent 10-year prison sentence after pleading guilty before a federal court judge for driving the girl southwest from Casper until he was caught in Arizona.

Martin entered the pleas in back-to-back hearings at the Ewing T. Kerr Federal Courthouse, 111 S. Wolcott St.

The federal and state charges arose after Martin began a friendship, then sexual relationship, with a then-12-year-old girl in 2021. On Nov. 16, 2022, he abruptly quit his job and picked her up at her school. Local, state and federal investigators were able to track email accounts and other data, finding Martin had reserved a hotel room in Sedona, Arizona. On Nov. 18, authorities activated an Amber Alert, and a deputy stopped him near Parker west of Phoenix.

The Natrona County District Attorney’s Office filed the state charges in December, as did the Wyoming U.S. Attorney’s Office. The federal grand jury handed down the indictment on Jan. 11.

On April 16, Martin pleaded not guilty in Natrona County District Court. On July 19, he pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court.

Tuesday, the federal case was heard first by Chief Wyoming U.S. District Court Judge Scott Skavdahl.

According to the plea agreement reached by Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Griswold and Martin’s defense attorney, Keith Nachbar, Martin would plead guilty to the sole count of knowingly transporting a minor victim in interstate commerce from Wyoming to Arizona “with the intent that such individual engage in any sexual activity under such circumstances as would constitute a criminal offense” under Arizona law.

In exchange for the plea, Martin’s sentence in the federal system would be no more than 10 years and would run concurrent with any sentence handed down in Natrona County District Court, Skavdahl said. The punishment for this crime is 10 years’ to life imprisonment.

The plea agreement also included lifetime supervised probation after release from custody.

During his plea, Martin outlined what he did when he took the victim from Wyoming to Arizona.

Before the sentencing, set for Jan. 23, Skavdahl said a pre-sentence report will be prepared, including Martin’s personal and family histories as well as other information. The preparer of the report would recommend a sentence based on federal sentencing guidelines.

He explained the federal sentencing guideline system that recommended a sentence based on a defendant’s criminal history and the severity of the offense. Martin’s criminal history was at the lowest possible level; however, the guideline for his crime was high, plus enhancements minus his acceptance of responsibility. The result of that calculation resulted in a potential sentence of nearly 20 years to nearly 25 years, Skavdahl said.

Skavdahl also said he is not a party to the plea agreement; he could reject it, in which case Martin would withdraw his guilty plea and the case would be set for trial.

While the federal plea deal set a punishment of 10 years’ imprisonment, the state’s potential sentence is much higher.

After the federal court hearing, Natrona County Chief Deputy District Attorney Blaine Nelson presented the state’s plea agreement before Natrona County District Court Judge Daniel Forgey.

In exchange for pleading guilty to six of 17 counts related to sex abuse crimes of minors — conviction of all of which would result in lifetime incarceration — Nelson said the state would cap a sentence at 45 years’ imprisonment, which would run concurrently with the federal 10-year prison sentence,

The state also would dismiss the remaining 10 counts at sentencing, he added.

During the plea, Forgey read the six counts.

The counts are:

• Taking immodest, immoral or indecent liberties with a minor, punishable by up to 15 years’ imprisonment
• Sexual contact with a minor by a person in authority, punishable by up to 20 years’ imprisonment
• Sexual intrusion of a minor, punishable by up to 50 years’ imprisonment
• Cause to induce a minor for explicit sexual conduct, punishable by between five years’ and 12 years’ imprisonment.
• Receiving child pornography of the victim (but not recorded by him), punishable by between five and 12 years’ imprisonment
• Sexual intrusion of a minor, punishable by up to 50 years’ imprisonment

Forgey said other punishments include registering as a sex offender and losing rights to vote, hold office and receive certain government benefits.

Martin pleaded guilty to each of them and explained what happened.

Forgey accepted the plea, although he is not a party to it.

Nelson urged Forgey to set a state court sentencing date as close as possible to the Jan. 23 federal court sentencing date.