Associated Press - October 14, 2009 1:55 PM ET

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - A Wyoming inmate convicted of sex assault has died while serving his sentence in an Oregon prison.

The Wyoming Department of Corrections says Earl Leroy Brown, Sr., died Tuesday at the Two Rivers Correctional Institution after a long illness. He was 51.

Spokeswoman Melinda Brazzale says details of Brown's illness are not publicly available. An autopsy has been ordered.

Brown was born in Powell. He was sentenced in 2001 in Goshen County state District Court to up to 33 years in prison for convictions of third degree sexual assault and possession of forged writing.

Brazzale says some Wyoming inmates are kept in out-of-state prison systems because of health or safety concerns. Brown had been at the Oregon prison since January.

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