After a four-day trial and just two hours of jury deliberation, Christopher Tarpey was found guilty of first-degree sexual assault for raping a 24-year-old Jackson woman on July 23, 2020, two months after she moved to town.
The case was tried in the Ninth Judicial District Court in Jackson by a 12-person jury and made public via an audio live-broadcast on the Wyoming Judicial Branch website. Due to COVID-19 concerns, in-person attendance was limited. But the public could tune in to listen to the trial.
Few sexual assault cases in Jackson make it through to trial, but due to the first-degree charge and the strength of the evidence, the state did not offer the defendant a plea deal and moved forward with the criminal trial. During the testimony, listeners heard graphic accounts and had a taste of the resort townâs party culture.