A Green River man has been convicted of child sexual exploitation for grooming and encouraging a child to have sex with other juveniles.
William “Bill” John Duncan, 50, was found guilty by a jury Wednesday and will be sentenced at a later date, on six convictions for child exploitation, and two more misdemeanors of child endangerment and unlawful contact.
The six child exploitation charges each carry a penalty of five to 12 years in prison and $10,000 in fines. Child endangerment is punishable by up to one year in jail and $1,000 in fines, and unlawful contact carries a maximum sentence of up to six months in jail and $750 in fines.
The convictions stem from events that unfolded in about 2021 and 2022, when Duncan encouraged a pre-teen child into multiple sexual acts, some with an older teen and some with another preteen, court documents say.
Duncan furnished sex toys and alcohol to at least one child as well, according to an evidentiary affidavit Sweetwater County Criminal Chief Deputy Attorney Micaela Lira compiled from the notes of Green River Police Department Detective Martha Holzgrafe and Sgt. Lars Nandrup.
Lira charged Duncan on March 6, originally with nine counts. She dropped one misdemeanor charge before advancing to the three-day trial that started Monday in Sweetwater County District Court.
A Little Unique
Duncan did not testify at his trial.
The jury deliberated four hours after the trial ended Wednesday, Sweetwater County Attorney Daniel Erramouspe told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday.
Lira ran the prosecution alongside County Deputy Attorney Alex Breckenridge.
And the charging mechanism was unique, Erramouspe added.
“We charged him the statute that’s usually applied to child pornography (cases),” he said, referring to child sexual exploitation. “But the facts of the case fit it. And really good job by Micaela and Alex on seeing it through to a conviction.”
Wyoming doesn't have a "grooming" statute, though the Legislature discussed passing one earlier this year.
Duncan’s defense attorney Vaughn Neubauer declined Friday to comment.
The Investigation
The investigation started in January, when a counselor alerted Green River Police Department investigators to potential criminal activity.
The victim spoke to police and gave a forensic interview that implicated Duncan in sexual enticement and grooming, and physical violence, the affidavit says.
Police also reviewed text messages between Duncan and the victim in which Duncan demanded the victim delete their communications.
Other text messages show the pair discussing alcohol and the child talking about being drunk; and others show Duncan discussing with the child the “practicing” of sexual acts, the document says.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
