Wyoming ICAC

06/05/2024

Know2Protect is a national public awareness campaign developed by the Department of Homeland Security to educate and empower children, teens, parents, trusted adults and policymakers to prevent and combat online child s*xual exploitation and abuse (CSEA); explain how to report online enticement and victimization; and offer response and support resources for victims and survivors of online child s*xual exploitation and their supporters. More information can be found at www.Know2Protect.gov .

03/15/2024

“When we think of monsters, we think of the ones in the movies, hiding in the shadows and under our bed. We don’t think about the ones that could be in our close friend group. In August of last year, someone our family and many others loved and trusted was revealed as one of those monsters.”

A 29-year-old Cheyenne man was called a “monster” by the family of his victim Wednesday before drawing 60 years in prison for ra**ng a child and having sadomasochistic po*******hy depicting infants and toddlers.

03/06/2024

Jason Allen Johnson, who turns 44 this year, is charged with 10 counts of possessing child po*******hy (punishable by up to 10 years in prison and fines of $10,000 each), seven counts of voyeurism (up to five years and $5,000 each) and one count of be******ty (up to one year in jail and $1,000 in fines).

A Wheatland, Wyoming, man charged with multiple felonies for allegedly having child p**n and for having a dog perform a s*x act on him with spray cheese could spend more than 100 years in prison if convicted.

02/15/2024

Suspect Convicted in Child Po*******hy Case

On Tuesday evening, a Laramie County Jury returned five guilty convictions against Matthew Iverson, 40, of Cheyenne. The convictions were for one count of s*xual exploitation of children - reproduction of child po*******hy, and four counts of s*xual exploitation of children - possession of child po*******hy.

The convictions have a potential penalty of a prison sentence of 5-52 years (combined) and fines of up to $10,000 per count. Sentencing will be set for a later date.

The case was investigated by the Cheyenne Police Department's Detective Bureau, with assistance from the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) team, and was prosecuted by the Laramie County District Attorney's Office.

Case Background:
The investigation began when a community member made a report concerning child po*******hy in early March 2023. A search warrant was subsequently served at Iverson's residence, where multiple devices were collected and found to contain child po*******hy. Iverson was arrested and charged with the counts in early-April 2023. The trial lasted for two days, starting this past Monday.

02/13/2024

"McDonald said that when he speaks to fifth and sixth grade classes, 90% of children raise their hands when they’re asked if they’ve had to block someone displaying predatory behavior online."

JACKSON — Minors are experiencing s*xtortion online at an alarming rate, according to the FBI. The agency issued a warning stating that in Atlanta, reports have increased 700% since 2021.

02/06/2024

Today is ! We would like to encourage all parents to with their kids about online safety. Wyoming ICAC would love to answer any questions that you may have or provide any resources that may be needed. Let us know or message us for help!

For more information on the growing issue of S*xtortion you can visit https://www.missingkids.org/s*xtortion

If you have an online n**e, partially n**e, or s*xually explicit photo that was taken before you were 18, you can now visit https://takeitdown.ncmec.org/ for help getting those taken down.

02/01/2024

We're getting closer to so Wyoming ICAC would like to share some SMART Tips for parents. Since 2018 Wyoming has seen a 840% increase in enticement cases. We encourage you to with your kids about internet safety today.

*On average there are 500,000 online predators on the lookout daily.
*While using social media around 40% of children will remove privacy settings in order to attract more followers.
*It is estimated that 89% of s*xual advances directed at children occur in Internet chatrooms or instant messaging.

https://childsafety.losangelescriminallawyer.pro/children-and-grooming-online-predators.html

01/30/2024

Wyoming ICAC is getting ready for on Tuesday, February 6. We encourage parents to with their children about online safety. We will be sharing tips leading up to Safer Internet Day. For more resources you can visit https://saferinternetday.us/

08/15/2023

https://sheridanmedia.com/news/142685/sheridan-man-sentenced-in-federal-court-for-s*xual-exploitation-of-a-child/

A 33-year-old Sheridan man was recently sentenced to prison in Wyoming Federal Court for child po*******hy. According to information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming, U.S District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson sentenced Kyle Smith of Sheridan to 35 years in prison for the ...

07/19/2023

Cheyenne Frontier Days is upon us so Wyoming ICAC and Uprising would like to remind everyone of a few safety tips to help prevent human trafficking and keeping children safe.

We hope you have a fun and safe Frontier Days!

Some helpful links are attached as well
https://polarisproject.org/myths-facts-and-statistics/
https://humantraffickinghotline.org/.../safety-planning
https://uprisingwyo.org/spot-the-signs/

07/18/2023

Joint News Release with Wyoming ICAC

Casper Man Arrested in Multi-Agency Operation Targeting Online Child Predators

July 18, 2023 – The Natrona County Sheriff’s Office recently partnered with the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Team and Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) to conduct an undercover operation into child predators exploiting children online in Natrona County.

The two-day operation resulted in the arrest of 36-year-old Adam Paul Custeau of Casper, Wyoming. Custeau responded to an online advertisement to pay to have s*x with whom he believed to be a 12-year-old girl and a 14-year-old girl. On June 22, 2023, Custeau went to a location where he believed he would meet the juveniles. He was contacted by law enforcement, arrested, and transported to the Natrona County Detention Center. Custeau has been charged with one felony count of attempting to entice a minor to engage in illegal s*xual activity.

The Natrona County Sheriff’s Office partners with Wyoming DCI to provide manpower to the ICAC task force. The WY ICAC task force receives hundreds of cyber tips each year with Wyoming Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. The ICAC unit works cyber tip cases daily to uncover criminals preying on and exploiting children. These types of partnered, proactive operations are designed to identify and contact predators before they victimize an actual child.

“Predatory crimes against our children will not be tolerated in Natrona County,” said Natrona County Sheriff John Harlin. “We will continue to aggressively work together to ensure child predators have nowhere to hide in our community.”

“The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation and its ICAC unit are dedicated to keeping Wyoming’s children safe from predators no matter where they exist,” said Chris McDonald, Special Agent of the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation and Commander of Internet Crimes Against Children task force. “Our State, Local and Federal partnerships are absolutely critical to the success of both our reactive and proactive operations. Wyoming DCI is grateful to all the agencies who participated in the recent operation and especially to Natrona County Sheriff John Harlin, his staff, and the Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).”

We urge parents and caregivers to learn about the dangers of websites and mobile applications their children may be using and to have open, honest conversations with their children to equip them with the tools they need to be safe online.

The Natrona County Sheriff’s Office invites our community to an evening of information and dialogue on topics surrounding Internet Safety for youth. NCSO is hosting a presentation and Q&A with subject matter experts on July 26th, 2023, from 6:15 pm to 7:30 pm at the Agricultural Resource and Learning Center, Mills Room, located at 2011 Fairgrounds Road in Casper. This event is free to attend and for adult community members only. (Event link: https://fb.me/e/4vJvm7ySv)

The Natrona County Sheriff’s Office is committed to preserving the peace of our county and ensuring it is a safe place to live, work, and visit.

06/29/2023

Wrapping up please see the attached video on the dangers that can present online and how to keep your children safe.