(Lander, WY) – 46-year-old Benjamin Wilson appealed his case to the Wyoming Supreme Court in November 2023. Today, March 27, the Wyoming Supreme Court affirmed his conviction of sexual abuse of a minor in the third degree.
Wilson was found guilty by a Fremont County jury of one count of sexual abuse of a minor in the third degree for a reported assault involving a victim under the age of 16 that took place in Natrona County between January 2015 and December 2018.
Penned by Justice Gray, the conclusion of the Wyoming Supreme Court Opinion states that “the State presented sufficient evidence to support Mr. Wilson’s conviction for third-degree sexual abuse…”
Wilson presented a single issue in his appeal: “Was the evidence sufficient to convict Mr. Wilson of sexual abuse of a minor in the third degree?” Arguing that “the State failed to present sufficient evidence to convict him on Count Two, third-degree sexual abuse of a minor after the jury found him not guilty of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor.”
After going back through the case facts, the Opinion states: “Mr. Wilson’s claim fails on its premise. The jury’s acquittal of Mr. Wilson on one count has no bearing on the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the guilty verdict on the other.”
Wilson was sentenced to a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 15 years imprisonment at his April 25, 2023, sentencing hearing, which was overseen by the Honorable Judge Jason Conder.
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Editor’s Note: Out of respect for the victim, this write-up does not include any subject matter from the hearing or documents with any identifying factors.