United States of America v. Bryce Lucas Stimka

Date: 11-28-2025

Case Number: 25-CR-250

Judge: Dale A. Kimball

Court: United States District Court for the District of Utah (Salt Lake County)

Plaintiff's Attorney: United States District Attorney’s Office in Salt Lake City

Defendant's Attorney:

Description: Salt Lake City, Utah, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with producing child pornography, receiving child pornography, and enticement to engage in illegal sexual activity. n July 2024, Stimka (who was twenty-three years old) began an online relationship via Snapchat with a fourteen-year-old girl in Utah. Over roughly the next nine months, Stimka and the girl exchanged numerous sexually explicit photos, videos, and texts. The relationship ended in March 2025 when the girl’s parents discovered the secret cell phone through which she had been communicating with Stimka. Applying the Bail Reform Act standards, a magistrate judge ordered Stimka detained. In a written order, the magistrate judge concluded Stimka had met his burden of production to rebut the presumption of detention but the government had nonetheless carried its burden to show Stimka was a community danger. The Bail Reform Act requires pretrial detention “[i]f, after a hearing . . . , [a] judicial officer finds that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required and the safety of any other person and the community.” 18 U.S.C. § 3142(e)(1). The Act further creates a presumption “that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required and the safety of the community if the judicial officer finds that there is probable cause to believe that the person committed” certain enumerated offenses—including the offenses with which Stimka has been charged. See § 3142(e)(3)(E). The defendant may rebut that presumption by producing “some evidence” that his appearance could be assured and that he would not be a danger to the community. United States v. Stricklin, 932 F.2d 1353, 1355 (10th Cir. 1991). Regardless of the presumption’s effect, “the burden of persuasion regarding risk-of-flight and danger to the community always remains with the government.” Id. at 1354–55.

Outcome: Affirmed on appeal.

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Defendant's Experts:

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