A 22-year-old man has been charged with having sexual contact with a 12-year-old child.

Randon T. Gresham faces a count of sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree.

Gresham was arrested by Cody police on Oct. 14. He made bail and was released from the Park County Detention Center on Oct. 18 to await further proceedings.

In arguing for a $50,000 cash or surety bond for Gresham last week, Deputy Park County Attorney Larry Eichele said “it looks like he was preying on a very young individual, and we cannot condone that.”

Gresham’s parents, who live in Rock Springs, asked if he could be released on bond to stay with them. His father said Gresham has been working in Park County and trying to save up money for college, adding that his son “has never been in trouble before, not in the slightest.”

However, Park County Circuit Court Judge Joey Darrah adopted the prosecutor’s recommendation at the Oct. 16 hearing. After reading the affidavit submitted in support of Gresham’s arrest, “I do have a concern about public safety,” Darrah said, adding, “I know he doesn’t have a [criminal] record, and I know these are only allegations, but the strength of the case is what I have to consider here.”

The affidavit composed by Cody Police Officer Josh Van Auken alleges that Gresham — identified only by his initials in the document — was found in the girl’s bed and admitted to having sexual contact with her.

The girl told police it was the first time the two had met in person after connecting through a juvenile friend and communicating via Snapchat.

She is quoted as telling police that “the age difference is really weird” while Gresham “stated [the girl] appeared to be 18 years old,” Van Auken wrote.Judge Darrah initially set bond at $50,000 cash, which prompted Eichele to reiterate that he’d requested a cash or surety bond. The surety option gave Gresham the ability to hire a bondsman to post his bail for a $5,000 fee (10% of the total). As a general rule, Eichele said he only requests a cash bond when public safety is at risk and the defendant is a flight risk.

“… in this situation, with no criminal record, only the public safety was at risk,” Eichele explained.

Darrah then modified his ruling to allow a surety bond, saying it gave Gresham “hopefully an opportunity to come out.” He made bond two days later.

Under the bond conditions imposed by the judge, Gresham will need to stay in Park County and have no contact with the alleged victim, among other conditions.

Wyoming law protects the identities of defendants until the case advances to district court. At the circuit court level, judges typically refer to defendants by only their initials, but Darrah used Gresham’s name during last week’s appearance.

Because Gresham is at least 21 — he turned 22 this week — and the alleged victim is under the age of 13, a conviction on the first degree sexual abuse charge would carry a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison. He’s currently awaiting a preliminary hearing.