MISSOULA — An Anaconda man who was convicted by a federal jury of attempting to coerce and entice a minor into engaging in sexual intercourse and of possessing child pornography was sentenced Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, to 12 years and 10 months in prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
After a three-day trial that began on July 24, the jury found Christopher Todd Boudreau, 42, guilty of attempted coercion and enticement and possession of child pornography.
U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided. The court also ordered $21,000 in restitution.
In court documents and at trial, the government alleged that in July 2022, law enforcement, working in an undercover capacity on the internet, received a “friend request” from Boudreau. The undercover provided a phone number, and Boudreau initiated a text conversation. The undercover identified herself as a juvenile girl. Communications progressed, and Boudreau arranged to meet the undercover in Missoula. Boudreau repeatedly indicated his interest to engage in intimacy and stated that intimacy meant “sex.” Law enforcement arrested Boudreau on July 28, 2022, when he arrived at a location to meet the undercover. Law enforcement served a search warrant on Boudreau’s residence and found electronic media that contained thousands of images and videos of child pornography.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zeno B. Baucus and Brian C. Lowney prosecuted the case. The FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force and Missoula County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc [justice.gov].
