Casper man will serve up to 65 years in prison on child sex abuse case

NOTE: This article contains information related to charges of child sexual abuse.

CASPER, Wyo. — A Casper man was sentenced to at least 60 and a half years in prison in Natrona County District Court on Friday in a case containing what Judge Josh Eames called “some of the most horrible facts” he’d seen in his career, adding that judges generally refrain from making such qualifying statements.

Christopher James Schmidt, 26, was sentenced consecutively on two sets of charges, the first relating to sexual abuse of a minor and the second relating largely to possession of child sexual abuse materials, or CSAM.

During a sworn discussion at sentencing between Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigations Special Agent Ryan Hieb and Chief Deputy District Attorney Blaine Nelson, Hieb said that the justice system has largely abandoned the term “child pornography” since it implies consent that a minor cannot give. 

On May 7, 2024, the FBI contacted Wyoming DCI’s computer crimes unit about an anonymous tip. That led to the discovery of five files of CSAM on an account registered to Schmidt, according to the affidavit.

Investigators got another tip on May 9 flagging social media conversations with Schmidt that indicated a victim was at risk in the immediate future. In some of those conversations related in the affidavit, Schmidt told other people online about the abuse he’d carried out on a child who was under 1 year of age and invited them to do the same.

Schmidt pleaded guilty in August to first-degree sexual abuse of a minor and solicitation of the same for two counts. The plea agreement considered those charges separate from the charges of possession of CSAM depicting Schmidt’s victim and other victims.

On those charges, Judge Eames imposed 13 and a half to 15 years in prison. He also ruled that those would be served after the 45–50 years Schmidt will serve on the sexual assault charges.

“There’s no discounting the gravity of these offenses,” said Schmidt’s public defender, Kurt Infanger. “He wished he’d gotten treatment when the demented thoughts began.”

Schmidt had no criminal history, including traffic citations, and drugs and alcohol were not a factor in his behavior. “It’s a mental health issue,” Infanger said. He asked the court to consider imposing 25 to 30 years in prison.

Judge Eames noted that even those in the dark corners of the web found the abuse described and carried by Schmidt too extreme. He added that he believed the abuse would have continued if investigators had not stopped him.

Schmidt was held on a $250,000 cash-only bond throughout the case, and will get credit for 271 days served.