Wyoming authorities are awaiting word on sentencing of a Utah serial rapist before they proceed with possible charges against the man suspected of attacking 10 Laramie women since July.
Laramie Police Lt. Gary Puls said that no formal charges had been filed against Blaine Hogge Nelson, 33, in Wyoming. He said Wyoming authorities probably would not pursue the case further if Nelson is sentenced to life in prison.In Ogden, Utah, Nelson pleaded guilty last week to 13 sexual abuse and burglary charges in exchange for Weber County prosecutors dropping related investigations against the truck driver.
He was charged with four counts each of rape, sodomy and aggravated burglary and a single count of forcible sexual abuse in connection with sexual assaults involving seven women in Ogden.
Second District Judge Ronald Hyde set a May 11 sentencing for Nelson.
Puls said similarities in the cases from Ogden and Laramie led authorities in the two states to compare cases. The most recent Laramie attack believed linked to Nelson occurred Jan. 31.
Nelson also faces 11 other felony complaints in Cedar City, Utah, in connection with five sexual attacks reported in the Iron County community.
In addition, investigators in Arizona and Nevada have been to northern Utah to question Nelson about burglary-sex crimes in their states.