A motion hearing for Green River City Councilman Allan Wilson turned into a change of plea hearing when he pleaded guilty to the charge of sexual assault of a minor in the second degree Monday morning.
The plea is part of a plea agreement that would see the other charges he faces, sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree, sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree and sexual abuse of a minor in the third degree dismissed. The count he plead guilty to involves an incident that occurred in Sweetwater County in 2013 where Wilson was alleged to have touched the penis of a male child younger than 13 for sexual gratification. The other charges stem from separate incidents alleged to have occurred in Lincoln County. The charges from Lincoln County were joined with the Sweetwater County charge in a previous court hearing.
Wilson will receive a deferred sentence as part of the deal, so long as he provides a factual basis for the charge, admitting to the allegations against him.
The deferral refers to Wyoming Statute 7-13-301, which is commonly known as the state's first offender law. Under that law, a person charged with a felony, with the exception of murder, arson in the first or second degree, aggravated assault and battery or sexual assault in the first or second degree, and not having been found guilty of a previous felony, can apply to have the proceedings deferred and be placed on a probation term not exceeding five years. If that probation term is completed, then the original charge is dismissed. The deferral is subject to Judge Nena James' final approval.
A dedication removed
After news broke of Wilson's guilty plea, the Sweetwater County Child Developmental Center in Green River removed a plaque dedicating its park to Wilson.
Wilson was the director of the city's parks and recreation and was instrumental in helping bring the building to fruition.
"He was a valuable member of the community," Cristy Pelham, the CDC's executive director said Monday. " We're going to take it down ... It is very unfortunate, but we will not have a plaque dedicating a playground to an individual who harmed a child."
Amanda Cavaz, the communications administrator for the city said the plaque at the CDC would be the only item removed from public display, saying anything specifically honoring his service will be removed. She said there are not many plaques listing Wilson as a contributor public projects and said plaques listing him as a member of a group being recognized for its contributions will remain.
Cavaz said the city has monitored the situation and have acted on the issue steps as more information is publicly released. She said Wilson's term as a city councilman wraps up at the end of the year, naturally taking care of a situation where the Council would have to remove him from the group.
Wilson did not attend the council meeting Tuesday evening.
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