CASPER, Wyo. — A Casper man who is accused of producing and possessing child pornography in federal court is set for a December trial.
According to filings in US District Court, 30 year old Salvador Salas faces a federal charge of Possession of Child Pornography and five charges of Producing Child Pornography. If convicted on all counts Salas could face potential life imprisonment and fines of up to $1,500,000.
According to the Federal indictment, Salas is accused of possessing images of child pornography on multiple hard drives as well as an Apple iPhone 7. He is further accused of using an Apple iPhone 7 to produce visual depictions of a minor that had been “used, persuaded, induced, enticed, and coerced” to engage in sexually explicit conduct. The indictment accuses Salas of capturing both images and video of minors engaged in sexual conduct.
Salas had been scheduled for an arraignment on multiple charges in Natrona County District Court on June 23, 2021. Instead, upon arrival to the 2nd floor of the Townsend Justice Center, just before 8:30 a.m., Salas was taken into Federal custody. He had previously been out on bond. All of the county District Court charges were ultimately dropped.
District Court affidavits previously filed by the Casper Police Department say that an investigation into Salas began in February 2021 after a person contacted law enforcement reporting that a juvenile had been admitted to an area hospital and was suspected of “extensive methamphetamine ingestion.” A subsequent exam by medical professionals is said that the juvenile also showed signs of sexual penetration.
Reports taken at the time by law enforcement indicate that the juvenile had been in Salas’ home and was there to “babysit.” However, officers note in one affidavit that witnesses claimed that Salas did not have any children living in his home. A person close to the case is also said to have told police that they suspected Salas of giving controlled substances to the juvenile.
Before the county charges had been dropped, Casper PD filed an affidavit of probable cause alleging that Salas had acknowledged recording sexual activity between himself and a victim, the affidavit saying that Salas claimed the video was taken in order to protect himself from rape accusations.
Indictments are only accusations and anyone facing charges is considered innocent until proven guilty in court. Charges are subject to change based on court proceedings.
