Casper Man Sentenced For Child Sexual Abuse
A judge on Wednesday sentenced a Casper man to a three- to seven-year prison term for sending explicit text messages and photos of himself in his underwear to a young girl.
Judge Daniel Forgey sentenced Jason Lee Park during a hearing in Natrona County District Court
Forgey said he received letters of support for Park, but that didn't change the sentence, which was agreed upon in August when Park pleaded guilty.
If the case had gone to trial and Park was convicted, he could have been sentenced to up to 15 years of imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.
Besides the prison term, the plea agreement included the dismissal of two additional counts of the same crime, plus fees and other requirements.
In August, Assistant District Attorney Dan Itzen cited a new criminal case in which authorities allege Park violated a protection order by threatening to hurt the victim's mother's new boyfriend.
Forgey doubled the bond amount to $50,000. Park was able to post it, but was taken into custody after the hearing Wednesday.
The case began in March when a woman contacted an agent with the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation.She reported her ex-husband, Park, was sending disturbing text messages to her 13-year-old daughter.
The woman claimed Park, who was 37 at the time, was trying to convince the victim to send Park pictures of herself in her underwear, adding that Park had already sent the victim a photo of himself in a state of arousal.
The DCI agent was familiar with Park because of an April 2016 Casper police 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."