ROCK SPRINGS – A Reliance man is facing up to 30 years in prison if convicted of possessing child pornography.
Justin Golay, 34, made his initial appearance in Sweetwater County Circuit Court Wednesday afternoon after being arrested Dec. 9 by the Wyoming Department of Criminal Investigation. Golay faces three counts of sexual exploitation of children – possession of child pornography. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Golay is being held at the Sweetwater County Detention Center on a $100,000 cash only bond. A preliminary hearing was set for Dec. 18 at 3 p.m.
According to court documents, The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a tip from X Corp. which operates the X social media platform that was formerly known as Twitter. The tip alleged a user had uploaded eight files containing suspected child pornography. After reviewing the IP address associated with the tip from NCMEC determined the incident occurred in or near Rock Springs and forwarded the tip to DCI Oct. 11.
DCI Agent Greene was assigned to follow up with the tip and reviewed the files. During the review, the IP address was discovered to be associated with a LR Communications customer in Reliance. Additional tips from NCMEC from additional alleged uploads were investigated, with additional tips revealing a cell phone number associated with the alleged uploads.
Utilizing databases, the number was found to be utilized by Golay as recently as September. Agent Greene learned Golay’s listed address was near the address associated with the LR Communications IP address from the first tip and discovered he is on probation from a driving while under the influence conviction earlier in 2024. After contacting his probation agent, DCI Agent Greene discovered the phone number and address previously associated with Golay matched information he listed with Sweetwater County Probation and Parole.
