By Sarah Elmquist Squires
The Ranger
Via- Wyoming News Exchange

RIVERTON — On a Friday last October, a child called 911 and told investigators they had been raped while under the care of Hunter DeVries, 23. 

Hours later, DeVries – a former Riverton substitute teacher and paraprofessional turned school board hopeful – emailed the county elections office to withdraw his candidacy, walked into the Riverton Police Department, and admitted to it all. 

Last week, DeVries was sentenced to 25-30 years in prison on one count of a plea deal, and 25-30 years on the other, to be served concurrently. 

He originally faced a quarter of a century behind bars for five counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor. 

Judge Kate McKay said she had to weigh both the seriousness of his crime against his “wholehearted acceptance of responsibility [which is] remarkable, it is uncommon.” 

His victim, however, has nightmares, and, quoting the victim’s mother, McKay said DeVries stole the child’s future. 

DeVries spent his five years as an adult focused on children: working in and volunteering for schools and children’s organizations, something McKay found akin to “an active alcoholic working in a bar.”

 

The crime 

After telling family members earlier in the day about the abuse, the victim called 911 and made a tearful report. 

DeVries met his victim at a youth organization and would sometimes watch the child while the child’s mother was gone. The abuse spanned over a year, and the victim described various sex acts initiated by DeVries while the two were alone. 

The sexual abuse began around August 2023. 

Riverton Officer Brandon Brookover interviewed the victim, then made contact with DeVries, who agreed to come to the station. He sent an email withdrawing from the Riverton School Board race, then headed to the station, where he admitted to engaging in the sexual abuse; DeVries also added more admissions the following day during an interview at the county jail. 

 

The letters 

Fremont County Attorney Patrick LeBrun read aloud a letter from the victim’s mother; he noted that he altered portions in which she addressed her child’s abuser directly, instead, calling him Mr. DeVries. 

“When I think over the last year and a half, it is filled with great memories of Mr. DeVries in our lives. That joy has turned to so much anger and pain,” LeBrun read. “I looked at [DeVries] as another one of my kids. I trusted him with my most precious things in the whole world, my children.” 

The victim’s mother wrote that DeVries stole her child’s childhood, that the sexual assaults caused nightmares and upended the lives of the entire family. 

“His actions have turned our world upside down. While life goes on, we’ll never be the same, so shame on him,” she wrote. “I know we will never get an answer for why, and he will have to live with the consequences of his actions.” 

Ten letters in support of DeVries were submitted to the court. 

McKay noted that both the letters and DeVries’ own statement put the victim and the victim’s family first. 

“We were shocked and stunned when we heard this news,” DeVries’ mother Christal wrote. “Our hearts immediately went out to the victim, the family, and all those affected by it … We believe that Hunter is more than his mistakes, and that he needs intervention and therapy to reform his life.”

Family, friends and a former coworker wrote that while DeVries needs to face restitution for his crimes, they believed he could be rehabilitated and contribute to society one day. 

 

‘My sins were laid bare’ 

DeVries addressed the court himself before the sentence was handed down. 

“Many of you would like to see me in custody for the rest of – the remainder of my life, and in no way can I blame you,” he said. “I failed you, I have betrayed you; I have betrayed myself. This mistake that I’ve made has been incredibly public. My sins were laid bare … This is my fault. All blame lies squarely on my shoulders … I got myself into this situation. In the coming years I will repair what I can. I’ve destroyed an innocence that cannot be repaired.” 

 

The arguments 

Defense attorney James Whiting asked for a sentence of 25-27 years, adding that the Youthful Offender Program could be appropriate for the defendant; he recognized the court must “do its best to balance the two prongs of justice and mercy.” 

LeBrun said the state was seeking 27-30 years, and said the investigation showed that DeVries thought he was in a romantic relationship with the child. 

“That obviously is beyond an incorrect thought process, and that thought process, it makes Mr. DeVries dangerous and why he should be sentenced to a lengthy period of incarceration,” he said. 

McKay mentioned that the pre-sentencing investigation showed that DeVries suffered from an addiction; in his letter of support, DeVries’ father provided more context. He said that while his son struggled with depression, anxiety and confusion, he didn’t believe he had any addictions involving drugs or alcohol, but “unfortunately has struggled with other addictions associated with online images that have obviously influenced him in very negative ways.” 

“These crimes did involve some planning, specifically grooming and even in the face of being confronted with other grooming behaviors that should have tipped him off to the need to distance himself from this child, from the jobs that he was undertaking,” McKay said. “But instead he seemed to double down and continue his relationship with the family, continue seeking out positions involving children, and as a final note, as to aggravating factors, of course the enormous victim impact simply cannot be understated. The victim has nightmares, [the child’s] life is unalterably changed by this event. It’s easy to believe [the victim] may be broken going forward; hopefully that is not the case, but [the victim is] not the same kid that [the victim] was before all of this happened and [the victim] won’t be the same adult that [the victim] would have been.” 

But McKay also spoke about DeVries’ acceptance of responsibility for his crimes; that neither he nor his supporters attempted to shift blame. 

“So that really speaks about the community that Mr. DeVries came from, the values he grew up with, and while he obviously struggled to maintain [some] of those values, the other ones are still alive and well,” she said. 

She recalled a saying written in one of the letters: There’s good in the worst of us and there’s bad in the best of us. 

“Both things can be true: That Mr. DeVries is all of those things that are described in the letters, that he is thoughtful, kind, intelligent, helpful, trustworthy, talented, respectful, and that he had hopes to make Riverton a better place,” the judge said. “All of that can be true alongside this one – not one, but many – terrible acts.” 

She said the Youthful Offender Program, which typically allows a defendant to seek a reduced sentence after the eight- to nine-month program, wasn’t appropriate. 

“I certainly don’t want to give you any hope that I would be reducing your sentence after that amount of time,” she said.