Sheridan Man Sentenced to Prison for Sexual Abuse of a Minor

A sentencing hearing was held Tuesday in Fourth Judicial District Court for a Sheridan man charged with sexual abuse of a minor. Sheridan Media’s Ron Richter has the details.

In August of 2022, 23-year-old Jade Hotchkin was arrested and charged with first degree sexual abuse of a minor and second degree sexual abuse of a minor. The crimes occurred between January 4 and September 20 of 2016 when Hotchkin was 16 years of age and the victim was 8-years-old.  At a change of plea hearing in April Hotchkin pleaded guilty to the charge of first degree sexual abuse of a minor. The second degree charge was dismissed as part of a plea agreement that was reached with the state.

At sentencing Tuesday, District Court Judge Darci Phillips accepted the terms of the plea agreement and sentenced Hotchkin to not less than 8 and not more than 15 years in prison and ordered him to pay $325 in various court costs and fees. Hotchkin was given 323 days of credit for presentence confinement.

Also from District Court Tuesday:
A sentencing hearing was held for 20-year-old Dekken Mayer for the charge of soliciting illicit sexual relations. Mayer, at a previous hearing, pleaded guilty to the charge as part of a plea agreement with the state. District Court Judge Darci Phillips accepted the plea deal and deferred the prosecution and placed Mayer on three years of supervised probation and ordered him to pay $325 in court costs and fees.

Mayer was arrested by the Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office last December and charged with the crime for sending messages to a 13-year-old girl via Snapchat that were allegedly threatening and sexual in nature. According to court documents, Mayer sent the messages between November of 2021, and January 5, 2022.

A trial date has been set for a Sheridan man charged with felony theft. At an arraignment hearing Tuesday in District Court, 25-year-old Jace Brown pleaded not guilty to the charge of theft. District Court Judge Darci Phillips scheduled a three-day, #3 stack jury trial to begin on October 30. A pretrial conference will take place October 12 at 10 am in District Court.

According to court documents, Brown, between June of 2022 and March 20, 2023, stole $1,775 in merchandise from Wal-Mart in Sheridan by using a tactic that is referred to as “sticker switching”, where he scanned the bar codes of less expensive items than the items he was purchasing and taking from the store. Felony theft is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.