Laramie County DA: Alleged Cheyenne Predator Facing 25 Years In Prison

A 19-year-old man accused of soliciting what he believed was an 11-year-old girl online for sex is facing a maximum of 25 years in prison, the Laramie County District Attorney said in court on Wednesday.

EF
Ellen Fike

July 21, 20222 min read

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A 19-year-old man accused of soliciting what he believed was an 11-year-old girl online for sex is facing a maximum of 25 years in prison, the Laramie County District Attorney said in court on Wednesday.

Clayton Tanner’s charges were bound over from Laramie County Circuit Court to the county’s district court after a nearly 90-minute hearing on Wednesday afternoon. Tanner did not speak out loud during the hearing, but conferred with his attorney at a few points.

He is charged with four felonies, three of which were related to the solicitation of sex from a minor. It was not immediately clear what one of the charges was, as the court documents were not available to the media by publication time.

Tanner is accused of soliciting what he believed to be an 11-year-old girl online for sex. In reality, he was chatting with an adult man, Alex Rosen, who runs an online group known as the “Predator Poachers.”

Rosen confronted Tanner with the chat on July 4 and their discussion was later uploaded in a video to YouTube.

Laramie County District Attorney Leigh Anne Manlove laid out the state’s case against Tanner, whose alleged crimes culminated in an arrest in the early hours of July 4 by the Cheyenne Police Department.

Cheyenne Police Officer Matthew Ryan testified during the hearing on Wednesday, detailing the arrest of Tanner.

Rosen and Tanner had been chatting online since May. During the course of their conversations, according to screenshots provided to Cowboy State Daily, Tanner asked the girl if he could have various types of sex with her, cut her up and drink her blood and rape her infant stepsister.

Tanner was taken into custody that night for solicitation of a minor and possession of child pornography.

Tanner’s attorney mentioned during the hearing on Wednesday that Tanner was previously convicted of child endangering, a misdemeanor, in May. Ryan said Tanner told the officer on the night of his arrest that May conviction was related to manufacturing child pornography.

Tanner was on probation for the charge at the time of his July 4 arrest.

At the end of the hearing, Tanner’s bond was set at $25,000 cash and he was ordered to wear a GPS tracking device upon his release from jail. He was also not allowed to have unsupervised interactions with children under 18.

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Ellen Fike

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