CASPER — A 25-year-old local man who allegedly bragged about having sex with young children pleaded guilty Friday to sexually abusing a child, along with making and having child pornography.
Christopher James Schmidt was escorted into a courtroom at the Natrona County District Court in orange jail attire and shackles Friday morning. He conferred with his attorney, Kurt Infanger, prior to pleading guilty to seven of nine felony charges in a plea deal.
The charges resulted from an investigation earlier this year by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, during which he allegedly boasted in online chats about performing sex acts with kids and being eager to do things with children.
Under the plea agreement with Natrona County Chief Deputy District Attorney Blaine Nelson, the seven charges were placed into two groups that would have concurrent sentences, and attorney arguments would be made at sentencing whether the two groups of charges are served consecutively or concurrently.
Judge Joshua Eames asked Schmidt if he understood the terms of the plea deal and then read through the charges, which include sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree and solicitation of sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree being grouped together.
A charge involving sexual contact with a minor and four charges of sexual exploitation of children were put in the second grouping of charges.
‘I Plead Guilty’
After Eames read through the charges, he asked Schmidt how he would plead.
“I plead guilty, your honor,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt then told the judge that he had sexual contact with a child between Aug. 1 and 31, 2023, and also had “made communications with individuals” about opportunities for them to have sexual contact with the child “but never intended for it to happen.”
As to the counts of possessing child pornographic material, he admitted those.
“I did engage in possession of explicit child material,” he said.
Schmidt also agreed that he manufactured pornography and that information he provided investigators on an arrest affidavit was accurate, which stated that Schmidt “admitted to sexually assaulting and producing images of child pornography (with a minor) on approximately three occasions.”
Judge Eames then noted that Schmidt’s confession was made “knowingly and voluntarily.”
The judge then dismissed two charges involving sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree. He ordered a pre-sentence investigation.
Case Background
Schmidt was arrested May 13.
An affidavit of probable cause filed in Casper Circuit Court shows the charges stem from a Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation probe that began with a May 9 FBI assistance request involving Schmidt and an anonymous complaint sent to the FBI’s National Threat Information Center.
Subsequent investigation found files that tracked back to Schmidt’s residential address that include video clips and photographs depicting sex acts with prepubescent females.
Investigators also found electronic chats Schmidt allegedly had with other men discussing various alleged acts with underage children.
A DCI search of past cyber tips allegedly connected to Schmidt’s online profile included five files from 2022 that showed images of child pornography, the affidavit states.
He ‘Advertised’
The affidavit, which has been redacted to protect the identities of some people and victims, details several chat conversations Schmidt had that included words and phrases known to “advertise” underage sex and child pornography.
In executing a search warrant, the affidavit says: “Numerous chats were recovered which indicated (Schmidt) had a sexual interest in children and that a potential sexual assault of a child had occurred. The chats took place throughout April and May 2024.”
In all, investigators cited six conversations about underage sexual contact and child pornography Schmidt allegedly had in May and April, the affidavit says.
On May 13, documents show that special agents interviewed Schmidt, and he admitted to seeing his first images of child pornography at age 16 and regularly viewing pornography before going down that “rabbit hole.”
Potential Penalties
The charge of sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree carries a prison term of 25-50 years and a fine of up to $10,000 or both. The charge alleges an incident of sexual intrusion on a minor between Aug. 1-31, 2023, in Natrona County.
The charge of solicitation of sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree involves offering a child for sexual abuse in the first degree, but the act was not attempted or committed by other persons. The alleged date of the offense was between April 1 and May 15, 2024. The charge carries a penalty of not less than 25 years in prison and up to 50 years, as well as a fine of not more than $10,000, or both.
The charge involving sexual contact with a minor, which occurred between Aug. 1 and Sept. 30, 2023, carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 or both.
One of the charges of sexual exploitation of children involving the manufacture, reproduction, and distribution of child pornography carries a penalty of not less than five years in prison and up to 12 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 or both.
The other three charges of sexual exploitation of children involving possession of files of pornography carry penalties of up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
