Guadalupe Hernandez Jr.

A young Powell man has been ordered to serve 12 to 18 years in prison for having a sexual relationship with an underage girl and possessing sexually explicit images of another.

Guadalupe Hernandez Jr., 22, accepted the prison term last month as part of a deal with the Park County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Hernandez pleaded guilty to two felony counts of second-degree sexual assault of a minor and another of possessing child pornography while five related felonies were dismissed.

District Judge Bill Simpson accepted the deal “somewhat reluctantly,” noting that Hernandez had reportedly complained about his prosecution.

In an interview with a probation and parole agent ahead of his July 24 sentencing, Hernandez reportedly said that, “I think the justice system is horrible because we almost get charged almost as much as a killer.”

Hernandez was also quoted as saying that he took his case seriously, but Simpson was troubled by the remarks.

“It concerns me that somehow you believe you’re a victim,” the judge said. “You’re not a victim. You’re a criminal. You’re a felon. You took advantage of an innocent child. It disturbs me that you don’t seem to recognize that.”

Hernandez declined to elaborate on his statement about the justice system, but said he was sorry for what he did.

“What would you like to tell your victims here today that could convince any of us that you really are sorry for your criminal activity and that you’re not just a victim of a system gone wrong?” Simpson pressed.

“I just apologize for my actions, your honor,” he said, adding later that he intends “to focus on myself to improve myself better and make sure I get the help I need.”

Simpson said he hoped that was the case, remarking that, “you’ll have plenty of time to do that at the Department of Corrections.”

He added that Hernandez has “a lot to atone for.”

The backstory

Hernandez’s trouble started in early April 2025, when Powell police were told that he had received inappropriate photos on Snapchat from a 14- or 15-year-old girl. Then-Investigator Chris Wallace eventually learned that Hernandez had received several nude photos from the girl.

“There were other nude photos of what appeared to be young females,” Deputy Park County Prosecuting Attorney Ericka Smith said in an email, but authorities were unable to identify them.

Then in mid-May, while police were still investigating the illicit images, Hernandez accidentally shot a woman at a Powell residence; she suffered non-life-threatening injuries and Hernandez was charged (and ultimately convicted of) misdemeanor reckless endangering.

However, while Hernandez was out on bond in the shooting case, police also learned that Hernandez was in a sexual relationship with a different, 15/16-year-old girl that had begun months earlier. The girl has said Hernandez encouraged her to keep their relationship a secret.

When Officer Wallace brought Hernandez in for questioning on July 1, 2025, he reportedly admitted to having sexual contact with the girl and was arrested. He’s been in custody since then.

During the proceedings, Hernandez received a mental evaluation and was found to be competent to face the charges.

Comments on the sentence

“Being as young as he [Hernandez] is, there was an opportunity for it to be lower,” Smith said in court of the sentence she offered, “but he, frankly, violated his bond, and … in my opinion, he’s lucky that the state agreed to what it has. I think it could have been worse, and it would have been deserved.”

However, Hernandez’s court-appointed attorney, Sarah Miles, called the 12 to 18 years “a very long sentence” and said the deal was appropriate given the facts and circumstances. Miles submitted three letters of support from family members who requested leniency for Hernandez, asking the court to see that he’s more than his actions in the cases.

The plea deal was supported by the victims, according to comments shared in court.

The mother of the girl who was in a relationship with Hernandez submitted a statement that said the incident has had “lasting emotional and psychological effects” on her daughter.

In her own statement, the girl said she had thought Hernandez cared about her, but “looking back now, I understand that I was manipulated and taken advantage of by someone who was much older than I was.”

The girl also said she worries about what will happen when Hernandez is released.

“… if anything, I just want to know that he won’t be able to find me or hurt anyone else,” she wrote.

State records show Hernandez is currently being held at the Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution in Torrington.

At an earlier hearing, Simpson remarked that Hernandez “will be approaching middle age” before he’s released. When he gets out, he’ll need to register as a sex offender.