Gillette police officer faces felony charges for custodial sexual relationship, witness tampering

GILLETTE, Wyo. — A rookie Gillette police officer is facing multiple felonies with Utah prosecutors alleging he engaged in a custodial sexual relationship, tampered with a witness and illegally accessed protected information while employed as a Hurricane City police officer, Washington County court records state.

Christopher Goree, a police officer employed by the City of Gillette since September 2024, is charged with three counts of felony engaging in an illegal custodial sexual relationship and felony tampering with a witness. He is also charged with a misdemeanor for illegally accessing her protected information.

According to a statement from the City of Gillette, Goree was taken into custody on Dec. 2 after the Gillette Police Department received a felony arrest warrant relating to a Utah criminal investigation.

The charges against Goree stem from a 2024 investigation in Washington County, Utah, that began after Utah State Bureau of Investigation agents were made aware that Goree, then a Hurricane City police officer, had been engaging in an intimate relationship with a female probationer, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in the case obtained by County 17.

Per court documents, the probationer confided in her probation officer that she was actively involved in an intimate relationship with a married HCPD officer, Goree. She said their relationship started two years prior in April 2022 after the two of them met at a Hurricane City gas station.

Initially, the relationship was confined to text messages but it eventually moved to an intimate one where Goree would go to the probationer’s residences in Hurricane and St. George, the affidavit states, adding that the probationer provided her probation officer with videos and images of Goree.

Additionally, the affidavit states Goree was aware that he was engaging in an illegal custodial sexual relationship with the probationer and would actively participate in defamatory dialogue about her probation officer.

When interviewed by SBI agents, the probationer denied having a sexual relationship with Goree, stating they were only friends. She allegedly refused to let them see her phone messages, pictures and videos or any communications between her and Goree, per the affidavit.

The probationer changed her story during another interview, this time by her probation officer, who recorded the exchange, during which she admitted to having a sexual relationship with Goree, the affidavit states.

A records search by SBI agents revealed Goree accessed the Utah Criminal Justice Information System without legal reason in April 2023 to check the probationer’s name, at which time she was on felony probation, according to the affidavit.

A warrant was sought and granted for SBI agents to search the woman’s phone. They allegedly recovered deleted messages between the probationer and Goree indicating their relationship had been sexual. Goree also tried to get the probationer to lie about their relationship and attempted to compel her to change her story, the affidavit states.

Another warrant was granted for the probationer’s iCloud account, which revealed additional evidence of the relationship including pornographic pictures and videos, per court documents, which say SBI agents matched Goree’s geographical cellphone data with the images and text records.

According to the affidavit, Goree resigned from HCPD shortly after the criminal investigation began and moved his family to Gillette, where he secured a job as a police officer. The relationship between the probationer and Goree allegedly continued, during which he would travel from Wyoming to St. George and they would be intimate.

Per court documents, the warrant for Goree’s arrest was sealed given his position as a sworn Wyoming peace officer, which at the time granted him access to criminal justice systems that could reveal the warrant and allow him to evade capture.

According to the City of Gillette, the Gillette Police Department was unaware of the investigation when Goree was hired and his background check was completed before the investigation began.

Goree was placed on administrative leave pending termination. According to Gillette Deputy Police Chief Brent Wasson, his city employment has not been terminated as of Dec. 5.