Christopher Gravenmier, 31, of Kemmerer entered a no contest plea to three felony counts in Lincoln County’s District Court Wednesday, July 15. Gravenmier was taken into custody April 22 for allegedly kidnapping a 12-year-old girl from Oklahoma and engaging in sexual acts with her multiple times on the way back to Kemmerer and after returning to Kemmerer.

According to Lincoln County Attorney Spencer Allred, Gravenmier entered his plea on two counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree and one count of kidnapping. Sentencing is scheduled to take place on July 29 where he faces 25-50 years on each count of sexual abuse and up to 20 years on the kidnapping charges.

A no contest plea means the defendant does not admit guilt but also does not contest the charges. By entering a no contest plea, Gravenmier gives up the right to a trial and the defendant is convicted. The judge can impose the same sentence that could have been imposed after a guilty plea or a trial conviction.

According to court documents, Gravenmier began messaging a 12-year-old girl from Oklahoma on Snapchat and eventually began sending her explicit content. He then drove from Kemmerer to the girl’s home. The girl later told detectives that she feared Gravenmier would hurt her family if she didn’t go with him, so she snuck out of her bedroom window and got in his vehicle. Gravenmier then brought the girl back to his home in Kemmerer where she was required to participate in multiple sexual acts with him.

Court documents state that when Gravenmier saw social media posts about the girl being reported as missing, he devised a plan to not get caught. He drove to Wamssuter, Wyoming where he dropped the girl off and went to a gas station. He instructed the girl to walk up to him at the gas pump, tell him that she had been kidnapped and ask to use his phone. The girl did as instructed and when she was given the phone she called her grandmother and authorities were immediately notified. Upon questioning by authorities, the girl collaborated the story with Gravenmier, saying that she had never seen him before and asked to use his phone. The phone was confiscated and Gravenmier was allowed to leave as there was not enough evidence at the time to charge him.

However, the girl later informed an FBI agent during a subsequent interview that Gravenmier was the person who had taken her. She also described in detail the multiple sexual acts that took place at his Kemmerer home. The Kemmerer Police Department was then notified, and Gravenmier was shortly afterwards taken into custody by a KPD officer. The girl returned to her home in Oklahoma.