Man accused of child sex abuse pleads not guilty

Man accused of child sex abuse pleads not guilty
 
CHEYENNE (WNE) — A local man charged with multiple child sex offenses pleaded not guilty Thursday morning in Laramie County District Court. The county’s district attorney has been accused of improperly declining to prosecute the case. 
Peter Summerhawk, born in 1974, is accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a young teenage girl for several months. He is also accused of repeatedly showing the girl pornography. 
Summerhawk entered a not-guilty plea to all charges against him: 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. 
Laramie County District Judge Peter Froelicher set a trial date of Oct. 24. 
Froelicher also reduced Summerhawk’s bond to $100,000. He is not allowed to leave the county, nor have any contact with victims in the case or any minors, per bond conditions set by the judge. 
Declining to charge court documents filed in early June, along with information shared with the Wyoming Tribune Eagle by a family member of the victim, indicate that Summerhawk 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 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 judge last November granted the city’s request to have the AG’s office review and potentially prosecute the case. 
Manlove has denied the city’s claim that her office declined or failed to prosecute the case.
 
 
This story was published on July 1, 2022.