Natrona County man sentenced to 13.5 to 15 years in prison for sexual assault

A Natrona County man was sentenced to 13.5 to 15 years in prison for sexually assaulting a co-worker last year. He will receive 172 days of credit for time already served.

Edward Charles Foster previously pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual assault in exchange for other related charges being dropped. He was initially charged with first-degree sexual assault, a felony punishable by up to 50 years in prison.

Foster's public defender, Dylan Rosalez, noted that his client was intoxicated at the time of the crime, which he said is a mitigating factor.

Prosecutor Brandon Rosty pointed to Foster's criminal history as an aggravating factor.

Foster pleaded guilty to a burglary charge last year in Natrona County. He has previously been charged with arson, burglary and bail jumping, and in 1999 he was convicted of sexual assault. He was charged again with the same crime, but accepted a plea deal to a lesser charge.

“It was similar scary circumstances,” Rosty said. Additionally, Foster was on probation out of Wisconsin at the time of the incident.

In a written statement to the court, the victim said it took months of therapy to recover from what happened. “The feeling of being dirty, no shower could erase it.”

The assault was reported to Wyoming Medical Center on June 11. The victim told police she offered to give a co-worker a ride home after work. When Foster arrived home, he allegedly refused to get out of his car.

She made the choice to allow Foster to spend the night at her house. While they were driving, Foster allegedly put his hand on her leg several times, even though she asked him to stop several times.

She later told investigators she felt “obligated” to let him stay the night because he was a co-worker and the owner of her workplace was a friend.

Once they got home, she told Foster he could sleep in the living room. Then she went into her room and barricaded the door with a dresser and fireplace to keep Foster out.

The victim told police she had fallen asleep, but woke up to the sound of her dog growling. She said Foster was kneeling next to her bed and her pants were down. In her statement to police, the victim admitted that she had been drinking that evening and did not fully understand what had happened until later that day when she filed her report.

Laboratory tests later confirmed that Foster's DNA was present on the victim's underwear.

Donovan Shorts