Even after he was charged with five felony counts on claims that he molested an 11-year-old child, a Riverton school board candidate won 509 in-person votes in the general election in Fremont County Tuesday – six days after his criminal case went public – according to unofficial election results.
Hunter DeVries, 23, also won 174 early votes and 333 absentee votes – for a total of 1,016 votes.
He was still a far cry from winning a seat on the Fremont County School District 25 board, losing to six other candidates in a race with only four winners.
The winners were all incumbents: Lynette Jeffres (3,379 votes), Carl Manning (2,599), Bruce Berg (2,730), and Lori Morrow (2,569).
DeVries also received fewer votes than defeated hopeful Drew Bott, who won 1,915, and Nicole Wagon, who won 1,526. He received more votes than another candidate, who won 854.
Of the 333 absentee votes, a substantial number of them could have been sent in early before DeVries’ case went public. Many of his early-voting tally could have accrued before then as well.
Early voting opened in Fremont County on Oct. 8, 20 days before felony allegations were filed against DeVries.
DeVries launched a positivity-first campaign for a seat on the Fremont County School District 25 board in August.
On Oct. 28, he was charged with five counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor, each punishable by between 25 and 50 years in prison if he’s convicted.
The case became publicly available Oct. 30, and Cowboy State Daily reported on it that day. Court documents written by Riverton Police Department investigators accuse DeVries of molesting a boy for more than a year.
On Oct. 25, the day Riverton Police Department investigators contacted DeVries about reports of child molestation, DeVries sent an email to the Fremont County Clerk’s office withdrawing from the race. But it was too late to remove his name from the ballot.
Voting booths in Fremont County on Tuesday contained notices that he was no longer a candidate.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
