Casper Man Accused of Kidnapping Waives Probable Cause Hearing
A Casper man who police say kidnapped and sexually abused a young girl last week waived his probable cause hearing Thursday.
Joshua T. Hicks is charged with aggravated kidnapping, second-degree sexual abuse of a child and third-degree sexual abuse of a child. He could face 20 years to life in prison if convicted on all charges.
Circuit Court Judge Steven Brown did not address Hicks's bond, which is currently set at $500,000 cash-only.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, a child born in 2014 was outside playing in the area of SW Wyoming Boulevard and South Coffman Avenue when Hicks allegedly took her. She was returned to an area near her home about 13 minutes later.
After police notified the public Wednesday and urged people to be on the lookout for Hicks's black GMC pickup truck seen on surveillance video.
Friday morning, a police officer noticed the vehicle parked at an undisclosed location. An hour later, the officer saw the vehicle leave and stop at a stop sign, according to court documents. The officer stopped Hicks and took him to the Casper Police Department for questioning.
There, Hicks allegedly told investigators that he had been on his way home from work Wednesday when he saw the girl outside playing. He turned around, parked his truck and watched her. He later waved the girl over, grabbed her and put him in the back seat of his pickup truck, according to the affidavit.
Hicks then allegedly drove the girl around and exposed himself to her and forced her to touch his genitals for "about three seconds," he told investigators.
According to the affidavit, Hicks said he fantasizes about young girls. He reportedly admitted that he watched young girls play on playgrounds at schools on over 30 separate occasions.
"Hicks admitted that over the course of the last six years, he frequently, over thirty separate occasions, watched young juvenile girls play on playgrounds at schools, in their yards and anywhere he could find them," the affidavit states. "On occasion, he would masturbate while watching the girls, and on two separate occasions, Hicks said that he was able to call girls who were five or six years old over to his truck and masturbate in their presence."
The next step in the case is an arraignment in Natrona County District Court where Hicks would enter a plea to the charges. That hearing has not yet been scheduled.