CASPER, Wyo. — A Casper man is facing trial by jury this week in Natrona County District Court on charges of child sex abuse and possession of child pornography.
The charges against Travis Gonsalves, 44, stem from alleged interactions with a victim who was 15 at the time, according to the charging information. Gonsalves pleaded not guilty to four counts of sexual abuse of a minor and a count of possession of child pornography last October.
Gonaslves is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The alleged victim told investigators that Gonsalves had tried to touch and rape her “as early as she could remember,” according to the affidavit. Caper police began to investigate after she disclosed to a school resource officer that Gonsalves had touched her inappropriately in the bed of a hotel.
Police executed a search warrant on Gonsalves’ phone, which over a dozen images of child pornography, according to the affidavit. Police say they also found explicit images of the girl, allegedly taken by Gonsalves while she was unaware. The images show her coming out of the shower, wrapped in a one she is seen coming out of the shower in a towel. In another she is in a bikini, and the prosecution said Gonsalves fixated on her buttocks in the picture.
Gonsalves faces a count of unlawful sexual contact with a victim under 16 over whom Gonsalves held a position of authority (second-degree sexual abuse of a minor) and the lesser, included charge of immodest, immoral or indecent liberties with a minor related to the alleged hotel incident in August of 2021. He also faces a count of sexual exploitation of children and two third-degree counts related for allegedly producing and possessing pornographic images of the girl.
The trial began Monday, and the jury went to deliberate after closing arguments Tuesday afternoon.
