A federal trial jury on Wednesday night found a Casper man guilty of six child pornography counts  including five for coercing a 13-year-old girl -- sometimes with methamphetamine -- to produce images and video.

The jury took two hours to find Salvador Salas Jr., guilty after three days of testimony including about 20 witnesses called by the government.

The indictment handed up by the federal grand jury on July 22, 2021, accused Salas of one count of possessing child pornography and six counts of production of child pornography.

Under federal law, possession of child pornography is punishable by up to 20 years imprisonmnet.

Production of child pornography is punishable by 15 years to 30 years imprisonment.

Other penalties for each production count are:

  • Up to a $250,000 fine.
  • Five years to lifetime supervised probation after release from custody.
  • A $100 special assessment.
  • A $5,000 special assessment pursuant to the Victims of Sex Trafficking Act of 2015.
  • Up to a $50,000 special assessment and mandatory restitution of not less than $3,000 per requesting victim pursuant tot he Amy, Vicky and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistant Act of 2018.

 

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Last week, Wyoming Assistant US Attorney Christyne Martens submitted a pre-trial memorandum that outlined the charges, the government’s proof including how the case began, the physical and digital exhibits, statements from witnesses, medical test results,  and excerpts from a Mirandized video-recorded law enforcement interview with Salas during which he admitted having sex with the girl.

The case began on Feb. 28, 2021, when a woman believed her 13-year-old daughter was high on methamphetamine and took her to the emergency room at the Wyoming Medical Center, Martens wrote.

 
A doctor confirmed that the girl’s behavior and burn marks on her lips were consistent with methamphetamine use.

 
Martens wrote that the mother would testify that she considered Salas a friend and her daughter would go over to his house to babysit and help him with his graphic design business.

 
The night before, Salas messaged the mother saying he was going to a store to get medicine because he thought she was having a reaction to something.

 
About 3:30 the next day, the mother found her daughter at home, “behaving strangely, shaking and not making sense,” prompting the emergency room trip.

 
A few days later, Casper Police executed a search warrant at Salas’ home for evidence of drug use and distribution and found methamphetamine, cocaine and the opioid buprenorphine.

 
That same day, officers executed another search warrant to collect Salas’ electronic devices.

 
A Department of Homeland Security computer forensic analyst from the Wyoming Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force found downloaded child pornography on the devices, and he had about 50 photos of the girl and five videos with Salas having sex with her.

 
A subsequent medical exam found Salas had given the girl a sexually transmitted disease, Martens wrote.

 
The Natrona County District Attorney first had the case.

 
After the execution of the search warrants, District Attorney’s office in April charged Salas with 13 counts including sexual abuse of a minor, sexual exploitation of children, and a number of drug-related crimes.

 

Four months later, federal prosecutors took over the case and asked that Salas be detained until his trial.

 
U.S. Magistrate Kelly Rankin agreed.

 
Rankin wrote detention was warranted because of the seriousness of the allegations, a history of alcohol and substance abuse, a history of violence including domestic violence, and a lengthy criminal history.

 
After that, several matters caused delays from the indictment to the trial including Salas’  dismissals of four attorneys and requests for continuations.

 
The trial was set for four-and-a-half days starting Monday, but ended Wednesday night.

Chief U.S. District Judge Scott Skavdahl scheduled Salas' sentencing for April 18.

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