Cheyenne man accused of child sex abuse deemed fit for Jan. trial
Nov. 18—CHEYENNE — A local man charged with multiple child sex offenses is competent to go to trial, a recent mental health evaluation found.
Peter Summerhawk, who is 47 or 48 years old, is accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a young teenage girl for several months in 2019 and 2020. He is also accused of repeatedly showing the girl pornography.
Summerhawk pleaded not guilty in June to six counts of first-degree child sex abuse, one count of second-degree child sex abuse and one count of third-degree child sex abuse.
Summerhawk's court-appointed attorney, Patricia Bennett, had filed a motion in early October to suspend hearings in favor of having Summerhawk's mental competency evaluated by the Wyoming State Hospital. Laramie County District Judge Peter Froelicher granted this motion.
Bennett said Thursday that neither she nor Summerhawk objected to the competency finding.
Froelicher set Summerhawk's trial for Jan. 23.
The judge also gave the go-ahead to reschedule a pending hearing on the state's intent to introduce evidence under Wyoming Rules of Evidence 404(b). This rule says that character evidence isn't admissible to prove a person's conduct in a case, but it may be admissible to show other things, including "proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident."
In a September filing, prosecutors Jenny Craig, deputy attorney general for Wyoming, and Kristen Jones, senior assistant attorney general, wrote that they intended to introduce evidence at trial related to an uncharged sexual assault they say was perpetrated by Summerhawk. He is accused of sexually abusing the daughter of his then-girlfriend in the late 1990s, when the alleged victim was 11 or 12 years old. Summerhawk lived with the girl and her mother at the time, according to the filing.
The Wyoming Tribune Eagle does not identify victims or alleged victims in sex abuse cases, nor does it identify victims or alleged victims who are minors.
Craig and Jones said they expect Summerhawk to also dispute the allegations from the 1990s at trial.
At the June hearing, Freoelicher reduced Summerhawk's bond from $250,000 to $100,000 cash. He remains in custody at the Laramie County jail.
Declining to charge
Court documents filed in early June, along with information shared with the WTE by a family member of the alleged victim, indicate that Sum merhawk is the same defendant the city of Cheyenne has said Laramie County District Attorney Leigh Anne Manlove declined to prosecute.
In a letter obtained by the WTE and reported on last August, then-Cheyenne Police Department Detective Lt. Rob Dafoe wrote to DA Manlove that he was frustrated her office had so far failed to charge a child sex abuse case he claimed had overwhelming evidence supporting prosecution.
A charge against Manlove later filed with the Wyoming State Bar referenced this case, accusing Manlove of failing to check for available DNA lab results before declining to charge.
Manlove has faced scrutiny for allegations that she mishandled the prosecution of cases and inappropriately dismissed certain cases, and that she created a hostile work environment. She faces potential disbarment in disciplinary proceedings brought by the Wyoming State Bar. The state's Supreme Court, which has the final say, currently has the matter under advisement following oral arguments in August.
A judge last November granted the city's request to have the AG's office review and potentially prosecute the case. In a court filing, Sweetwater County District Judge Suzannah Robinson said she agreed with the city's position that, because Manlove has a conflict of interest resulting from the pending disciplinary proceedings, Manlove was unable to prosecute the case.
Manlove has denied the city's claim that her office declined or failed to prosecute the case. She said before it was referred to the AG's office that the investigation was ongoing, as was the decision whether to prosecute the matter.
Manlove did not seek re-election for the office this fall. Her term expires in early January, when newly elected DA Sylvia Hackl will take office.
Hannah Black is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's criminal justice reporter. She can be reached at hblack@wyomingnews.com or 307-633-3128. Follow her on Twitter at @hannahcblack.
