Natrona County man charged with child pornography, distribution offenses

CASPER, Wyo. — A Natrona County man has been charged with multiple child pornography-related offenses following a months-long investigation that began earlier this year, according to court records.

Jacob Andrew Dudley, of Evansville, faces seven counts of possession of child pornography and six counts of possession with intent to distribute child pornography.

Investigators with the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation said they received a series of cyber tips between February and September 2025 that led them to Dudley’s address. Dudley, a registered sex offender, was on parole at the time after being released from prison only two months before authorities received their first tip.

Dudley was previously convicted in 2021 of sexually abusing a minor and sentenced to four to ten years in the Wyoming State Penitentiary.

According to a DCI affidavit, agents uncovered a number of online chats and messages linked to the same computer network at the Evansville residence. The messages allegedly contained discussions describing the sexual abuse of minors, including accounts of victims being assaulted while unconscious.

Investigators said the account tied to the messages appeared to belong to Dudley, who also allegedly admitted in the chats to several sexual assaults.

Dudley was arrested on Sept. 17. During an interview, he reportedly told investigators that he possessed a Galaxy phone containing an unknown number of child pornography files and that he had received 100 to 300 files through multiple Kik messaging accounts created earlier in 2025. Dudley denied any new sexual contact with minors, claiming his activity was “mostly fantasy,” aside from the previous abuse case involving a 14-year-old.

A Natrona County judge set bond at $2 million cash only. Dudley’s case is currently scheduled for trial on Dec. 29. He remains presumed innocent until proven guilty.

At Dudley’s earlier sentencing for the 2021 case, the presiding judge described the crimes as “horrible” and said such offenses leave lasting harm on victims.

“I can never understand why adult men view minor females as appropriate vehicles for their sexual gratification,” the judge said. “They don’t have in their mind, when they’re victimizing these children, the impact that their actions will have on those young women as they mature, and she will live with this for the rest of her life.”