A former resident manager at the Casper Re-Entry Center has been sentenced to a term of probation after admitting that she had sexual contact with an inmate.

District Judge Catherine Wilking on Thursday sentenced 24-year-old Tosha Sheesley to a term of three years of supervised probation with an underlying, suspended prison term of three to five years. Sheesley pleaded guilty in March to one count of third-degree sexual assault, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.

Sheesley will have to comply with state law concerning registration requirements for convicted sex offenders, but Wilking said Sheesley will not be subject to Wyoming Probation and Parole's rules specifically for sex offenders.

"You have really no significant criminal history to speak of," Wilking told Sheesley during Thursday's sentencing hearing. Until this case, Sheesley's criminal record had consisted of only a speeding ticket, Wilking said.

Wilking also told Sheesley that multiple cases -- similar to Sheesley's in that the defendants were accused of having relationships with inmates of facilities such as the Casper Re-Entry Center -- are currently being appealed before the Wyoming Supreme Court.

Sheesley's relationship with the unnamed CRC inmate was discovered in March, when the inmate was arrested for possession of methamphetamine on CRC property. The inmate's phone was confiscated, and personal messages between the inmate and Sheesley were allegedly found.

The inmate reportedly told investigators that he and Sheesley had sex at least three times in Sheesley's vehicle while parked behind the baseball fields in north Casper.

Sheesley was initially charged with two counts of second-degree sexual assault in addition to the third-degree charge to which she admitted. The second-degree charges were dismissed as part of the plea deal, which also included the state's recommendation of a probationary sentence.

In a tearful statement to the court before she was sentenced Thursday, Sheesley expressed that she did not want to be prohibited from being around her younger relatives because she would have to register as a sex offender.

Public defender Dylan Rosalez said he found it to be a "troubling" case because of the position Sheesley had been given by CRC management, despite her young age.

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