Nearly two years after being caught in a vigilante child sex predator sting operation, a Cheyenne man has been sentenced for crimes associated with trying to meet up with, rape and physically abuse someone he believed was an 11-year-old girl.
Clayton Tanner, 20, was sentenced March 14 to eight years in federal prison for possession of child pornography. The federal sentence will be served concurrently with a prior state sentence imposed on Tanner for similar crimes.
It was not immediately clear what Tanner’s state sentence was and when he was sentenced.
Tanner was indicted and pleaded guilty to a sole count of possession of child pornography Oct. 16, 2023.
Predator Poachers
Tanner was initially arrested in July 2022 after he was exposed having an inappropriate conversation with someone he thought to be an 11-year-old girl by a group known as the “Predator Poachers.”
Tanner was actually talking with an adult man, Alex Rosen.
Rosen and Tanner had been chatting online for several months. During the course of their conversations, according to screenshots provided to Cowboy State Daily at the time of reporting, Tanner asked the girl if he could have various types of sex with her, cut her up and drink her blood and rape her infant stepsister.
During the confrontation between Rosen and Tanner, the latter admitted to having child pornography images on his phone.
Ellen Fike can be reached at ellen@cowboystatedaily.com.
