Man Accused of Sexually Assaulting Teen in Evansville in 2017
A man who now lives in Gillette is accused of sexually assaulting a teen in Evansville in 2017 and is set to change his plea next month.
Dustin J. Gray, who was born in 1996, is charged with third-degree sexual assault, sexual exploitation of children, sexual battery and child endangerment. He could face up to 33 years behind bars if convicted of all charges.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, the alleged assault took place on the night of July 15, 2017, in Gray's car, which was parked outside his residence on First Street in Evansville. Earlier that day, the two victims had run away from the Casper Youth Crisis Center and met Gray at a skate park.
Gray was intoxicated. The three were given a ride to Gray's house and got into Gray's car, with Gray and another teen in the back seat, while the alleged victim sat up front.
The alleged victim told a forensic interviewer that she heard Gray and the other girl kissing in the back seat. She looked forward in order to ignore them, but Gray grabbed her and pulled her into the rear of the vehicle, trying to get her to perform oral sex on him.
Gray attempted to force the alleged victim, who would have been 15 or 16 years old at the time, to have sex with him. He allegedly pinned her down and removed her clothes.
The victim kicked Gray and escaped the vehicle, grabbing some of her clothes and getting dressed in the street. Gray and the other girl slept inside his house that night; the alleged victim slept outside on a bench in front of the house.
The next morning, Gray allegedly apologized for "acting like he did yesterday," the victim said. Gray also reportedly said that he doesn't usually force people to have sex.
On the following morning, July 17, 2017, the other girl went back to Gray's residence and told him that she wanted to have sex with him. She reportedly told the alleged victim to not tell anyone or she would deny it.
Later that night, the alleged victim went to a party, where she became very intoxicated. An Evansville police officer found her sleeping in the gutter on Missouri just before 8 a.m. the following morning.
At a scheduled preliminary hearing in Natrona County Circuit Court last week, public defender Rob Oldham told a judge that he wanted a hearing set so Gray can change his plea in the matter. Court records indicate that a change-of-plea hearing is set for Nov. 19 at 9 a.m.