Casper man sentenced to 10 years for transportation of a minor for sex

James Warren Martin, 38, of Casper, Wyoming, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, with a lifetime of supervised release, for transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. This sentence is to run concurrently with his 37-to-45-year sentence imposed in Wyoming's Seventh Judicial District state court for his victimization of the same minor. Chief U.S. District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl imposed the sentence on Jan. 23, in Casper.

According to court documents, the defendant was brought to the attention of law enforcement in October of 2022 when the minor victim's family member and guardian reported to the Casper Police Department that a male, identified as James Warren Martin, was grooming the girl. Detectives began investigating Martin. Then, on Nov. 16, 2022, Martin picked up the girl from school and fled the state with her. An Amber Alert was issued in Wyoming. Investigators determined that Martin and the minor victim may have been in Arizona. An Amber Alert was also issued in Arizona.

A deputy with the La Paz County (Ariz.) Sheriff's Office located Martin and the minor victim in Arizona. Law enforcement arrested Martin and rescued the girl. Electronic evidence showed Martin intended to take the girl to Mexico. Evidence also proved Martin had sexual intercourse with the girl after taking her from Wyoming. Martin was interviewed and ultimately confessed to having sexual intercourse with the girl numerous times in Natrona County, Wyoming in the years before taking her to Arizona.

Martin was indicted on Jan. 11, 2023, and entered federal custody on July 15, 2024. He pleaded guilty on Oct. 29, 2024.

The Casper Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, and La Paz County Sheriff's Office in Arizona investigated the crime. Assistant U.S. Attorney Z. Seth Griswold prosecuted the federal crime. The Natrona County District Attorney's Office prosecuted the accompanying state crimes.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

Case No. 23-CR-00005