A Casper man pleaded guilty earlier this month to four counts of child pornography production after being accused of making child pornography with his toddler daughter.
Daniel Hendricks, 33, faces 15 to 120 years of imprisonment and five years to life of supervised release. He could also be ordered to pay a $5,000 special assessment pursuant to the Victims of Sex Trafficking Act of 2015 and a $100 special assessment fee. In addition, he could pay up to $50,000 in special assessments and mandatory restitution of not less than $3,000 per requesting victim pursuant to the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act of 2018.
Hendricks was initially indicted last month on one count of possession of child pornography and four counts of production. He pleaded not guilty to the charges at the time.
According to a probable cause affidavit, in October, Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation agents received a tip regarding Hendricks, who was reported to Facebook for possessing and distributing child pornography. The files in question contained pornographic videos.
With the cybertip, the IP address involved in sending the child pornography was checked and was found to be in the Casper area.
One of the agents checked the Casper Law Enforcement Computer Aided Dispatch System and found a report that had been made in June by Hendricks’ wife, who told an officer at the time that her husband had made inappropriate online comments about a photo of a fully clothed girl.
Hendricks’ wife took screenshots of the comments her husband had made about the girl with another man on Facebook and said she believed Hendricks was engaging in pedophilia-type behavior and that he was a sick person for being attracted to children.
The officer told Hendricks’ wife at the time that while no law had been violated, her husband’s comments were gross and inappropriate and that he would keep the screenshots for evidence.
In October, Hendricks’ wife was interviewed by DCI agents, who confirmed she was separated from her husband. They have three children together, ranging in age from 14 months to nine years.
She told the agents that she had been previously sent a message on Facebook from an unknown person who told her that Hendricks was involved in a pedophile group online and engaged in conversations expressing a sexual interest in children.
While Hendricks’ wife had previously confronted him about this, he was apologetic, but added he was more interested in the “forbiddeness” of the conversations about children. She was also aware his Facebook account had been shut down on two separate occasions.
The same day in October, a search warrant was issued for Hendricks’ home in Casper. Upon arriving, Hendricks’ roommate answered the door, and Hendricks was in a locked bedroom.
After further announcements, he unlocked the door. Agents could see an AR-15 rifle in plain sight of his bedroom, so they placed Hendricks in handcuffs and took him to the DCI’s Casper office.
Hendricks admitted to viewing child pornography for about nine months to a year and although he said he was disgusted with himself, he continued due to depression, boredom in his sex life and his recent separation from his wife.
He said his preferred age of sexual interest was girls between 8 and 13. He admitted to receiving, sending and witnessing numerous files of child pornography, including one involving infants, on the Telegram messaging app.
However, Hendricks was adamant tha the never produced child pornography or sexually assaultedd any of his children or others.
Since one of the files Hendricks had sent on Facebook involved a toddler, agents questioned him about whether he had assaulted his own children and produced child pornography.
Hendricks ultimately admitted to producing child pornography with his youngest daughter, who was 14 months old at the time, during a diaper change, taking both photos and video of the abuse. Hendricks shared the files with an unknown person on Telegram in hopes for receiving similar files.
Hendricks also wrote a letter of apology to his wife, confessing to viewing and trading child pornography with others online and admitting to the abuse of their daughter. He apologized for his actions and said he wished he could take it back.
A search was also conducted of Hendricks’ cell phone, and more than 10 files of child pornography were found on it. The Telegram app was also found on his phone, and it contained numerous chats between Hendricks and other users exchanging child pornography.
