Lovell man facing 16 felony counts of sexual abuse of a minor, child abuse, incest

A 40-year-old Lovell man is now facing 16 felony charges alleging sexual abuse of a minor, incest and child abuse after five additional counts were added Tuesday in the Fifth Judicial District Court of Big Horn County.

The man, whose name is being withheld to protect the identity of the victim, has entered not guilty pleas to all 16 charges.  He is scheduled to go to trial July 28 on the initial set of 11 charges, which included five counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree, five counts of incest and a single count of child abuse.

At the man’s initial arraignment in April, Kimberly Mickelson, the deputy Big Horn County attorney, requested five days be reserved on the court calendar for possible trial, and Judge Bobbi Overfield denied a defense motion for a change in bond, leaving it at $50,000 cash only.

The five separate second-degree sexual abuse of a minor in the charges allege that the man, whose year of birth was listed as 1984, engaged in sexual contact with a victim under the age of 18.

An incest charge followed all five of those sexual assault charges, each of them alleging that he committed a sexual act with the same person, whose connection to the defendant was redacted in court documents.

A single count of child abuse, alleging that he “as a person responsible for the welfare of a child, intentionally or recklessly, inflicted mental injury upon a child under the age of 18,” completed the original 11-count felony information filed March 17.

Lovell police officer Cody Clark wrote in the affidavit of probable cause that he was not including every fact known concerning the investigation — just enough to satisfy the limited purpose of establishing probable cause.

Clark said he was dispatched to Lovell High School Feb. 3, 2025, to meet with a DFS worker and a student about a possible sexual assault, and that the same student met with a forensic interviewer Feb. 6 in Cody.

From those interviews came accounts of five separate instances when the man allegedly touched the victim inappropriately while she was staying with him in Lovell. The first four occurred between Dec. 1 and Dec. 31, 2024, the fifth between Jan. 1 and Jan. 31, 2025.

Each of the 11 felony charges is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 and/or a prison sentence of up to 10, 15 or 20 years.

Prosecutors attached an alternative charge of sexual abuse of a minor in the third degree to one of the counts, alleging that he took immodest, immoral or indecent liberties with the victim.

Additional charges

The five new felony counts brought against the man Tuesday stem from a mid-November incident that had not been previously reported to authorities. They include the first count of sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree, the sixth count of sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree, the sixth and seventh count of incest and the second count of child abuse.

The affidavit of probable cause indicates that on April 25 the victim shared with Lovell police an account of another sexual incident involving the man that occurred in mid-November.

At Tuesday’s hearing, Overfield informed the man that with the five new felony charges, he was facing up to 110 years’ imprisonment and/or fines of up to $50,000, and listened to arguments by the attorneys over the length of time required for trial. Price hinted that the prosecution may consider joining all 16 of the charges, and if it does, a trial could be completed within five days. Sarah Miles, the attorney representing the Lovell man, said that would be “pushing it” if that’s the state’s decision and suggested a trial involving all 16 counts may take up to seven days.