Casper ClyCasper Cly, a 26-year-old Los Alamos resident and former Los Alamos National Laboratory employee is scheduled for sentencing May 23 in the 11th Judicial District Court in Farmington. Cly was originally charged in Aztec Magistrate Court with four counts of child solicitation by electronic device and was bound over in April 2016 to the District Court.
Cly’s arrest was one of more than 20 arrests nationwide during a two-month-long law enforcement sweep by Internet Crimes Against Children task forces across the country in 2016. San Juan County Sheriff’s Deputy Erik Barlow was conducting a proactive child exploitation investigation using Internet message and classification boards when he saw an ad titled “Hey Little Sis…”. According to court records, Barlow sent a reply identifying himself as a 14-year-old girl and asked the author if he was okay with that.
Cly was later identified as the author. He allegedly told Barlow he was 25 and asked if he had any pictures. Barlow’s report alleges that Cly continued a sexually explicit conversation and asked for sexy photos. He then allegedly sent three sexually explicit photos and when Barlow attempted to end the conversation, Cly instructed him to delete the emails.
The next day, the conversation resumed and Cly allegedly broached the subject of having sex and Barlow eventually asked if he could meet the “female”, saying he would bring condoms. Barlow gave him a description of a park and asked if “she” had deleted the messages. Cly allegedly made further contact the following day and continued to discuss meeting for sex.
March 31, 2016, Cly’s vehicle was located in the area of Riverside Park in Aztec. Cly was intercepted by deputies as he walked through the park. As soon as he was contacted, Barlow’s report states that he said, “I wasn’t going to do it,” and, “I wasn’t going to meet Jamie”. Barlow then detained Cly and transported him to the Sheriff’s Office for an interview.
During the interview, Barlow’s report says Cly admitted to talking to a female he believed to be 14 years old, to initiating the sexual portion of their conversation, and arranging a meeting for sex. He allegedly claimed he changed his mind about having sex with a juvenile female but stayed at the park anyway, and that he had a box of condoms in his vehicle.
Under a plea agreement reached in March, Cly agreed to plead guilty to one count of child solicitation by electronic communication device, a third degree felony and one count of child solicitation (13-16), a fourth degree felony. The range of possible sentences for the third degree felony is probation to three years and a fine of $5,000, followed by two years parole. The range of possible sentences for the fourth degree felony is probation to 18 months with a fine of $5,000 and one year of parole.
Los Alamos County Sheriff Marco Lucero said Tuesday that he plans to attend the May 23 sentencing by Judge Karen L. Townsend to address the issue of registration as a sex offender.
