Crime and Courts

Court papers detail Manhattan man's confession in Cody, Wyoming kidnapping and assault

Posted: Nov 2, 2012 3:31 PM by Erin Schattauer
Updated: Nov 2, 2012 3:36 PM

BOZEMAN - In a story closely mirroring one told by the 11-year-old girl he's accused of kidnapping and assaulting, a Manhattan, Montana man confessed to police that he snatched the girl from outside the Park County Complex in Cody, Wyoming then sexually assaulted her, according to court documents.

In search warrant applications and affidavits obtained in Gallatin County, Detective Thomas Pallach with the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office detailed a confession Jesse Paul Speer, 39, gave to another detective during questioning. During the interview, the detective noticed that Speer was very nervous and shaking and repeatedly needed to go to the bathroom.

Speer ultimately confessed, court documents state.

The following account is what Speer reportedly told the detective, according to court documents:

He said he was driving around Cody, Wyoming and noticed a group of girls and said something to them about a lost dog. That's when he asked one of the girls to enter his vehicle and began driving out into the woods with her. At some point he bound her hands with rope and put a white bag used to hold a sleeping bag over her head.

He admitted to pulling out a .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun, showing it to her and telling her to "just be quiet."

Speer said he kept driving and was unsure about what to do next. That's when he got out of the vehicle and removed the topper, which he had earlier told the detective had been stolen from outside his Manhattan home before he left for Cody. He said he thought the topper would cause his vehicle to be recognized and left it in a remote location.

He said he then entered the vehicle and sexually assaulted the girl. He said he then drove around with her until it got dark then released her and told her she'd be OK and to travel downhill until she found someone. (The girl was found by hunters about 10 minutes after she was dropped off).

Speer then said he had thrown away the bag he put over the girl's head and the rope somewhere in Yellowstone National Park. He denied taking photographs or recording the assault. He also denied showing the girl any pornographic images. (The girl told police that she saw stacks of photographs of naked young girls while she was being assaulted).

"As Speer recounted these events he indicated he did not know why he had done this, was remorseful and cried," court papers state.

Speer provided details of the event that only the perpetrator of the crime would know, court papers state.
He also reportedly admitted to investigators that he had a pornography addiction and that he had viewed images of child pornography in the past. He also admitted to using a social networking site to find images of child pornography and said he used his laptop at his Manhattan home to view images, court papers state.

Search warrants were obtained for Speer's vehicle, his Manhattan home and a garage and camper at the residence. Investigators were looking a number of items.

In the camper, they reportedly found the foam mattress Speer had in the back of his vehicle. The gun he reportedly used was found inside the house.

Among other items, authorities also found Duct tape in the garage; his laptop, a digital camera and memory cards, hard drives and a thumbdrive in his residence; map, guidebooks, an annual parks pass and a Yellowstone National Park map in his vehicle.

Surveillance cameras and witnesses led authorities to Speer who is a photographer in the Bozeman area and who most recently lived in Manhattan.

Speer was stopped by authorities while driving his white Toyota 4-Runner in Belgrade on Oct. 13. He was held in the Gallatin County Detention Center then transported back to Park County, Wyoming where he is charged with kidnapping and aggravated assault. His bail is set at $2 million cash.

His next court appearance is Nov. 19.