CASPER, Wyo. — A 12-person jury has found a Casper man guilty on charges of child sex abuse and possession of child pornography, Assistant District Attorney Kevin Taheri confirmed Tuesday.
Travis Gonsalves, 44, was convicted of one count each of sexual abuse of a minor in the second and third degrees. The charges stem from interactions with a victim who was 15 at the time, according to the charging information.
Caper police began to investigate after she disclosed to a teacher months later that Gonsalves had touched her inappropriately in a bed of a hotel in August 2021. She told investigators that Gonsalves had tried to “touch and rape her as early as she could remember,” according to the affidavit.
Gonsalves was found not guilty on two additional counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the third degree. Both counts relate to images Gonsalves took of the victim, which the state said were taken while she was unaware. Though she is clothed to some degree in the pictures, Taheri said they fixated on her in a sexual manner.
Other images of child pornography were found on a hard drive, Taheri said.
During closing arguments Tuesday afternoon, Taheri reminded the jury that some of the pornography found on Gonsalves’s computer, though legal, revealed a fetish for a particular relationship — the one he shared in real life with the victim.
“That can prove motive,” Taheri said.
Gonsalves’s attorney, Christina Cherni, told the jury they couldn’t rule out that Gonsalves was acting out in his sleep on the night in question. She said the state couldn’t prove that Gonsalves acted with the intention to sexually arouse himself or the girl.
“If it’s a logical possibility, you haven’t ruled out reasonable doubt,” Cherni said.
She also pointed out that others had access to the cloud storage account where the pornography was kept.
Taheri countered that Gonsalves had apologized to the victim the day after the incident, indicating he was aware of his actions.
The charges upon which Gonsalves has been convicted carry a maximum penalty of up to 45 years in prison. Sentencing will happen at a later date.
