Quinlin James Hernandez, a 32-year-old resident of Crowheart, Wyoming, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for sexual abuse. The sentence was handed down by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl on March 5 in Casper. Hernandez will also face five years of supervised release following his imprisonment.
Court documents reveal that the case began on April 13, 2024, when a missing 14-year-old girl was found at Hernandez's residence. She managed to contact her grandmother via text message to pick her up from the location. During a forensic interview, the victim recounted being picked up by Hernandez and several minors without her guardians' knowledge on April 10, 2023. They went to a liquor store where Hernandez purchased alcohol before taking them to his home in Crowheart.
At his residence, both Hernandez and the minors consumed alcohol. It was during this time that Hernandez made sexual advances toward the victim and subsequently sexually abused her twice over two and a half days. A Sexual Assault Nurse Examination confirmed the presence of Hernandez’s DNA on the victim’s clothing.
Initially denying any wrongdoing during interviews, Hernandez later admitted guilt on December 13, 2024. He confessed to having sex with the minor while she was too intoxicated to consent or refuse.
The investigation into this crime was conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Wind River Police Department and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kerry Jacobson prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse nationwide.