A former Mills resident will spend seven to nine years behind bars for the crime of inflicting sexual intrusion on a minor female while in a position of authority over her.

Before his sentencing Friday, Kyle Stuckey said he felt bad about what happened and told Natrona County District Court he wants a chance to prove he has changed his life.

Stuckey's public defender Tracy Hucke asked District Court Judge Thomas Sullins to place Stuckey on intensive supervised probation and undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation. Or if the judge decided to incarcerate him, Hucke asked for a four-to six year sentence.

But Sullins agreed with Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Hambrick's recommendation of a prison term between seven and nine years.

Hambrick recounted Stuckey's criminal record including a conviction of receiving child pornography in 2008, failure to register as a sex offender, disciplinary problems with the Department of Corrections Honor Farm program, and noncompliance with other programs.

The victim, Hambrick said, was in counseling at the time of the assault and was vulnerable. The victim may suffer lifelong consequences of the assault, she added.

Before handing down the sentence, Sullins said Stuckey did accept responsibility for the crime. By pleading guilty, the victim would not have to relive the trauma during a trial, he said.

But he still poses a significant risk to the community, Sullins said.

The case started on March 30, 2014, when a Mills police officer responded to a call about a family fight in Mills involving Andrew Scott and his fiancee, according to an affidavit filed in Natrona County Circuit Court.

The fiancee said they were arguing because Scott had allowed Stuckey to stay at their residence even though Scott knew Stuckey was a sex offender.

The fiancee’s daughter, who was about 10 years old at the time, had said Stuckey had touched her inappropriately.

The girl was subsequently interviewed at the Children’s Advocacy Project in Casper.

The girl’s therapist told a Mills police investigator that the girl finally talked about the alleged touching. The girl was acting aggressively and making sexual comments, according to the affidavit.

The girl’s sister also exhibited a change in behavior in the previous six months, according to the therapist.

After questioning by police, Stuckey finally said, “‘I touched her. I admit it. I touched her,'” according to the affidavit.

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