Val Geissler

A Cody man who reportedly tried to convince a 17-year-old girl to become a prostitute and sleep with him in 2018 is mentally ill and not responsible for his actions, a judge has ruled.

After fighting over the issue for months, prosecutors conceded that Kenneth “Val” Geissler Jr., 81, is not guilty of the crimes by reason of mental illness or deficiency.

The finding was based on the opinions of three different medical experts — one retained by the prosecution and two by the defense — who evaluated Geissler following his arrest on the allegations.

“We never disputed that he’s mentally ill. We never disputed that he doesn’t understand what he’s doing,” Deputy Park County Attorney Jack Hatfield said of Geissler. The prosecution’s argument, Hatfield said, was a technical one about whether it was Geissler’s illness that made him unable to understand his actions were wrong.

Judge Bill Simpson had agreed to preside over a bench trial last month to settle the matter, but Hatfield said he ultimately decided it wasn’t worth “fighting the fight on the technical point.” The prosecutor stipulated that Geissler was not guilty by reason of mental illness or deficiency.

Judge Simpson accepted the findings at a March 16 hearing. As the judge summarized in an April 7 order, the finding means that Geissler “is not responsible for the conduct set forth in the criminal information as a result of a mental illness or deficiency that prevented him from having the substantial capacity either to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirement of the law.”

In conversations and letters in 2018, Geissler reportedly encouraged the 17-year-old girl to become a “whore,” going into explicit detail on what sexual acts she should perform for clients he would find. According to charging documents, Geissler also suggested that the girl have sex with him to pay off a car she’d purchased and encouraged her to break up with her boyfriend, charging documents say. And in August 2018, Geissler allegedly “grabbed [the girl] by the shoulders and kissed her on the lips with an open mouth” without her consent.

State law says Judge Simpson will next have to determine whether Geissler is still affected by mental illness and whether he presents “a substantial risk of danger to himself or others.” If not, Geissler — who is now free on bond — will simply be released. If he does pose a risk, the law says the judge will need to decide whether Geissler should be committed to the Wyoming State Hospital, or whether he can be “controlled adequately” under the supervision of a person or agency.

A hearing on that matter has not yet been scheduled.