Austin Strunk

A young Cody man is serving a six- to eight-year prison sentence for having sex with two underage girls in early 2024.

Austin L. Strunk, who is now 25, agreed to the punishment and pleaded no contest to felony counts of second- and third-degree sexual abuse of a minor as part of a deal with prosecutors.

“... I do deeply regret my actions,” Strunk said at a December sentencing hearing, according to a recently released transcript of the proceedings.

Charging documents say that in early 2024, when Strunk was 23, he had separate sexual relationships with a 16-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl, who he apparently believed was 16.

The 16-year-old said Strunk had pressured her into having sex and recalled him saying that “the age difference did not bother him as long as she was OK with it,” Cody Police Det. Tyler Eubanks recounted in an affidavit. 

Both girls told police Strunk had choked them during intercourse. The 15-year-old said the force was to the point she “couldn’t breathe,” while the 16-year-old said “she genuinely feared she was going to pass out.”

At Strunk’s sentencing hearing, the 16-year-old said she had originally believed her relationship with Strunk was love, but now sees it as something “twisted” that “should have never been.” 

Allegations come to light

Charging documents say Strunk initially connected with the two teens on social media, specifically Snapchat and Instagram.

After Strunk’s relationship with the 15-year-old ended, the girl’s mother reportedly discovered sexual messages the two had exchanged. The mother then reportedly messaged Strunk and threatened to make him “Facebook famous” if he kept contacting her daughter.

“She is 15 years old. You’re way too old for her and it’s illegal! I will prosecute!” the mother wrote in part.

“Yes mam i won’t ever talk to her again,” Strunk wrote back, according to court documents.

At that point, he was with the 16-year-old, but he reportedly ended the relationship about a week later, after one of her coworkers learned they were together.

Cody police learned of the allegations in early April and opened an investigation. Strunk was arrested within a matter of days and then released on a $10,000 surety bond.

Multiple arrests

However, he was rearrested in December 2024, after he was caught driving drunk and speeding on U.S. Highway 14/16/20 in Cody. Court records say a state trooper found nine open containers of beer and liquor, a marijuana pipe and a bottle of kratom inside Strunk’s Cadillac Escalade; a portable breath test put his blood alcohol content at 0.19%.

Strunk spent a couple weeks in jail before being re-released on an additional $5,000 cash bond. However, he was arrested once again in May 2025 on a domestic battery charge. His then-girlfriend, who is an adult, told Cody police that Strunk grabbed her during an argument and got on top of her, saying, “I should just f—ing choke you out right now.”

Strunk remained in custody after that altercation and agreed to the six- to eight-year sentence offered by Deputy Park County Prosecuting Attorney Larry Eichele in October. By the time he was sentenced by District Court Judge Bill Simpson in December, Strunk had served more than eight months in custody.

At that hearing, the 16-year-old said Strunk’s actions have given her nightmares and caused turmoil in her life.

Still, the teen said she forgave Strunk “for that of which you may not be sorry for yet and for the evilness that could still linger inside of you.”

State records show Strunk is currently being held at the Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution in Torrington. He’s projected to become eligible for parole in May 2029.