(U.S. Attorney's Office Press Release)
BILLINGS — A Canadian national who admitted to driving to Billings from Canada believing he was going to meet a juvenile girl for sex was sentenced Wednesday to 14 years in prison, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
The defendant, Andrew Scott Brown, 43, of Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Canada, pleaded guilty in August to attempted coercion and enticement and distribution of child pornography.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided. The court also ordered a total of $13,200 in restitution and special assessments.
“Although the ‘child’ in this investigation was an undercover agent, Brown’s intention to sexually abuse a child and the steps he took toward that goal were all too real. Brown’s sexual interest in children, his possession and distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material, and his willingness to drive from Canada to Billings to meet with a 12-year-old girl for sex show that he is an extreme threat to children in any community. With today’s sentence to federal prison, he will no longer be such a threat. We will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute anyone, no matter where they live, who attempts to harm children,” U.S. Attorney Laslovich said.
In court documents, the government alleged that on Jan. 27, law enforcement, acting in an undercover capacity as a 12-year-old child, posted on social media and Brown responded. The undercover informed Brown that he was chatting with a 12-year-old child, and Brown responded that he could get into a lot of trouble.
Over the next several weeks, Brown chatted with the undercover and sent messages that were sexual in nature. Brown requested they transfer their communications to a more secure electronic platform.
Brown also sent the undercover multiple videos of Child Sex Abuse Material (CSAM) and indicated later that he should be producing that content with the “child” instead.
On May 6, Brown drove from Canada to Billings with the belief he was going to meet the child for sex and messaged along the way. Law enforcement arrested Brown when he arrived in Billings. Law enforcement executed a search warrant of electronic media in Brown’s possession and found that he traveled with more than 20 images and three videos of CSAM.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office, Billings Police Department and the FBI conducted the investigation.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and 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 Justice.gov/PSC [justice.gov].
