TORRINGTON — A Sweetwater County man convicted of possessing child pornography has died in prison.

Russel Tanner, 74, died Sunday at the Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution in Torrington. He was convicted July 16, 2021 on 17 counts of possession of child pornography by District Court Judge Richard Lavery.

According to the Wyoming Department of Corrections, Tanner received concurrent sentences of eight to 10 years on Counts 1 through 8. For Counts 9 through 16, he was sentenced to six to 10 years, to run concurrently with each other, but consecutively to the sentences for Counts 1 through 8. On Count 17, Tanner was sentenced to six to 10 years, which was suspended contingent upon completion of three years of probation. Count 17 was ordered to be served consecutively to the sentences for Counts 9 through 16.

The WDOC has not released the cause of Tanner’s death. An autopsy will be conducted to determine his cause of death, but the department will not release protected health information.