By james art A Riverton, Wyoming man running for a seat on his school board is facing five felony charges after police say he molested a little boy for more than a year.
Hunter C. DeVries, 23, was charged Monday with five counts of first-degree sexual assault of a minor, each punishable by between 25 and 50 years in prison.
DeVries launched his campaign for seat on Fremont County School District Board No. 25 on August 15, with a Facebook post promising strong lines of communication between the public and the school district, support for faculty, and an emphasis on educational and recreational activities for a well-rounded education.
He dropped out of the race Friday by emailing the Fremont County Clerk’s office, Chief Deputy Clerk Margie Irvine confirmed to the Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday. It is too late to remove his name from the ballot, but anyone who votes after that point will receive a slip with their ballot announcing his withdrawal, she said.
The investigation into DeVries began Friday night, according to an affidavit by Riverton Police Officer Brandon Brookover.
Brookover was dispatched to a Riverton home that evening to speak with a 12-year-old boy who had reported sexual abuse. The boy was very upset and said he had been raped, the affidavit said.
He met DeVries at a local youth organization two or three years ago, the boy added. The affidavit said DeVries later babysat the boy.
The document describes DeVries forcing the boy to engage in various types of sexual acts repeatedly from around August 2023 until a few weeks ago.
The boy told family members about the incidents Friday, Brookover wrote in the affidavit.
An agent contacted DeVries by phone and asked him to come to the Riverton Police Department to speak with officers. DeVries arrived around 10:06 p.m., the document said.
RPD Detective Bhagia Netikumara took DeVries into the interrogation room; Brookover watched the interview from the recording room.
DeVries confirmed meeting the boy at a youth organization.
He admitted to engaging in sexual conduct with the boy, the affidavit said.
Nethicumara and Brookover conducted a follow-up interview with DeVries on Saturday at the Fremont County Detention Center in Lander, Wyoming.
DeVries admitted that beginning in August 2023, he began performing sexual acts with the boy and repeated various sexual acts at least a dozen times, the document alleges. The boy would have been 11 years old then.
The Fremont County Public Defender’s Office declined to comment on the case Wednesday.
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Hunter DeVries (Facebook) -
(Cowboy State Daily Staff)
In schools
DeVries is a familiar face in the Riverton school system.
His Facebook page says he is or recently was a commercial property manager at a local apartment complex. He was a substitute teacher at Willow Creek Elementary School from April to May 2023. He worked as a paraprofessional at the same school from August 20, 2020 to June 2021; and from April 14, 2022 to June 14, 2022.
He was a youth development professional at the Boys & Girls Club of Riverton from August 16, 2021 to April 26, 2023.
Fremont County School District 25 Superintendent Jody Ibach told the Cowboy State Daily via voicemail Wednesday that the district is not involved in the case or the allegations.
Claire McFarland can be reached at [email protected].