Cody Abduction Suspect Makes Court Appearance

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CODY, Wyo. (AP) — A judge has set bail at $2 million cash for a Montana man suspected of abducting and assaulting an 11-year-old Wyoming girl.

Thirty-nine-year-old Jesse Paul Speer of Manhattan, Mont., made his initial court appearance Friday before Circuit Court Judge Bruce Waters in Cody.

Speer was advised of the charges against him, and Waters appointed Cody attorney Travis Smith as his public defender.

Waters set Speer’s preliminary hearing for Oct. 26.

Prosecutors allege Speer forced a Cody girl into his SUV at gunpoint on Oct. 8, then assaulted and abandoned her outside of town. The girl was found by hunters driving through the mountainous area.

He was arrested Saturday in Montana.

Speer is a nature photographer and divorced father of two children.

Speer remains in the Park County Detention Center.