A former Washakie County Sheriff’s deputy who was serving as a Worland police officer until his arrest late last year was found guilty of sexually abusing three children, a jury ruled Wednesday evening.
The verdict convicting Myron Chatwin of three counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a child and two counts of second-degree in Washakie County District Court came after the jury deliberated for about four hours, Washakie County Attorney Tony Barton confirmed Thursday to Cowboy State Daily.
Barton did not prosecute the case, since the Washakie County Sheriff is his client and Chatwin worked for the sheriff’s office during Barton’s tenure, he said.
Former Washakie County Attorney John Worrall, whose service did not overlap with Chatwin’s, was brought in to prosecute the case, Barton said.
Three children testified at trial, Barton said. The charges Chatwin was convicted of correspond to him abusing one girl who was under 13, in 2021 and 2022; another girl under 13 between 2019 and 2021; and another girl, teenaged, in 2024.
Chatwin had faced three counts of first-degree sexual abuse and three of second-degree sexual abuse but was acquitted of one of the second-degree charges, Barton said.
He now faces up to 190 years in prison, plus fines. Each count of first-degree sexual abuse is punishable by between 25 and 50 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines. Each count of second-degree is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines.
‘Not Convinced’
The defense’s strategy. according to Barton, was to highlight a different issue the girls allegedly had against Chatwin, and how they may have conspired against him.
“The jury was obviously not convinced,” he said.
A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled, as Wyoming Department of Corrections employees have 60 days to compile a pre-sentence investigation report, which is a breakdown of Chatwin’s crimes, character and history.
Though out on bond during his prosecution, Chatwin was taken into custody after the jury’s verdict was read in court, said Barton.
Worrall did not respond immediately to a voicemail request for comment.
Chatwin’s attorney Christina Cherni did not immediately respond to a voicemail left at her office.
Though he was able to relate the basic framework of the trial, Barton said he tried not to attend too much of it, to limit distractions for the young witnesses and victims testifying.
“I didn’t want the kids to feel they were being looked at, or part of a circus or anything,” he said.
DCI Took It On
Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) agents took up the investigation Dec. 5, after the Worland Police Department sent DCI an email saying a young child had disclosed several allegations of inappropriate sexual contact to a counselor.
After this, other children came forward, one reporting abuse that happened as early as age 6, according to the evidentiary affidavit filed in the case.
The children who came forward after the first one described Chatwin’s tactics of inappropriate touching in the same wording the first child had used, the affidavit says.
DCI agents even asked questions using different wording, and one of the children corrected them, referring to the alleged tactics using the same language the first child had used, says the document.
Different Cop Shops
Chatwin was a detention deputy for the Washakie County Sheriff’s Office for just over a year, and transitioned to the Worland Police Department in November, Washakie County Sheriff Austin Brookwell told Cowboy State Daily in December.
The Worland Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment placed Thursday with its receptionist.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
