Casper Man Sentenced On Federal Child Pornography Charge
A federal judge on Monday sentenced a Casper man to six years, six months of imprisonment for possession of child pornography, according to court records.
Chief U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Freudenthal also sentenced Clarence Winfrey to seven years of probation after his release, ordered him to complete a sex offender treatment program, and ordered him to pay fines and fees.
Freudenthal also recommended Winfrey be placed at the federal prison in Englewood, Colo., or another facility where he can have serious medical conditions addressed. She also ordered him after his release to register as a sex offender, to not associate with children under 18, not associate with mentally or physically vulnerable adults unless a responsible adult is present, and only use a computer approved by the U.S. Probation Office.
Winfrey, who was 56 at the time of his arrest, pleaded guilty to the count of possession of child pornography on Sept. 19. In exchange for the plea, the U.S. Attorney's Office agreed to dismiss a count of distribution of child pornography at his sentencing.
If the case had gone to trial and he was convicted, he could have faced between five and 40 years of imprisonment.l
The government regards child pornography as a crime of violence because it involves sometimes brutal assaults on children who cannot give consent to sexual activity.
The case started in November 2015 when a U.S. Department of Homeland Security undercover agent in New Mexico was on a public online chat forum in a chat room about “childslavesex” and “pedomoms.” The agent then was contacted by a “Mr. Frey,” who was later identified as Winfrey, according to the criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court.
The calls continued intermittently, and it took time to gather evidence. Meanwhile, Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation agents located Winfrey’s vehicle, his residence in the 1200 block of North Center Street, and his Internet Protocol address.
On May 5, 2016, DCI agents executed a search warrant at Winfrey’s address.
Investigators found 130 images of child pornography on a hard drive and an image on a cell phone.