A 52-year-old Big Piney man faces more than 260 years in prison after being arrested on 24 counts of possession, manufacturing and delivery of child pornography.
Jared Forde Phillips is currently being held on a $50,000 cash bond in the Sublette County Detention Center.
If convicted, Phillips, arrested last week, faces a sentence of up to 264 years in prison and a fine of up to $240,000.
The case began in Montgomery County, Texas, in May when an undercover agent from the Texas Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) taskforce began exchanging pornographic images of children with Phillips in Wyoming. The agent had found Phillips in a chat room distributing illicit videos, court documents say.
The Texas agent posing as a 28-year-old woman with an 8-year-old daughter from Conroe, Texas, began corresponding in private messages with Phillips, who went by the display name of “wyonaked,” according to an evidentiary affidavit filed in the case.
The messages were sent via the Kik app, which is designed primarily for instant messaging on smartphones, enables users to send messages, videos or photos to individuals or groups. It’s free and users can set up accounts using only an email address with an emphasis on anonymity. Kik has been dubbed a “predator’s paradise” by organizations like the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
Kik account names are not unique to a user, and many people can use the same name, which plays a significant role in how users communicate to one another and find others with like-minded interests.
In the affidavit, the agent stated that the platform “has been a hub for various illicit activities,” prompting law enforcement agencies to use it for undercover work to weed out such activities. He also noted in the affidavit that undercover accounts “are often terminated by Kik.”
No Judgement Zone
In March, the Texas agent found Phillips in a private group called “No judgement zone 5” and reached out to him after Phillips shared a video containing bestiality with a young female who appeared to be around 18 years old, court documents state.
The agent sent Phillips a message commenting on the age of the women and that he thought it was “hot,” according to the affidavit.
Phillips then allegedly responded, “Ya she does it was posted in another group I thought it was hot and would be enjoyed by this group.”
During this same communication, Phillips told the agent that he was a married man living in Wyoming with a Scorpio zodiac sign, according to court documents. Phillips later identified himself as being 52 years old in a separate Kik group chat called “daugFun.”
On May 10, Phillips allegedly sent the agent a video involving a small child between the ages of 5 and 8 involved in sexual activity with an adult male and female, per the affidavit. Phillips then asked the agent if he could see “her.”
The agent responded by sending a photo of a woman and daughter’s faces asking to see Phillips at which point he shared a shirtless photo of himself taken on his phone.
Phillips proceeded to send the agent five more videos involving bestiality and child pornography with young children and adults and shared an additional seven similar videos in a private group of which both were members.
After tracing the “wyonaked” profile to Phillips, the case was handed over to an agent for the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force who completed the investigation and linked the illicit videos to Phillips, according to the affidavit.
In total, Phillips is accused of 12 felony counts of possession of child pornography and 12 felony counts of distribution.
He is being held in the Sublette County Detention Center on a $50,000 cash only bond. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 23 at 1:30 p.m. in Sublette County Circuit Court.
Jen Kocher can be reached at jen@cowboystatedaily.com.
