Billings, Montana – After being detained in an undercover operation when they showed up at a park to meet a phony young boy, a guy from Billings today acknowledged a child pornography felony, according to U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich.
39-year-old Jeffrey Mayes Wilkerson admitted to having child pornography in his possession. Wilkerson could receive up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and a lifetime of probation.
Judge Susan P. Watters of the US District Court presided. The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory considerations shall be taken into account by the court when determining any punishment. Wilkerson will be imprisoned for a minimum of 51 months if the court accepts the plea agreement negotiated in the case. The sentence was ordered for September 14 by the court. The release of Wilkerson was conditional to additional action.
The government claimed in court records that on July 14, 2022, law enforcement launched an undercover investigation in Billings during which agents pretended to be a 13-year-old kid online. The same day, Kyle Ray Schwindt, a co-defendant, got in touch with the undercover profile. Later, Wilkerson was linked to the undercover’s communications with Schwindt. The conversations resulted in the organization of a gathering for July 15, 2022, in a park. When Schwindt and Wilkerson arrived at the park, law enforcement detained them. When Wilkerson’s cellphone was searched pursuant to a search warrant, investigators discovered many films of child pornography as well as texts between Wilkerson and Schwindt involving the fictional 13-year-old. The films showed prepubescent kids acting in a sexually explicit manner. Following his conviction in the matter, Schwindt received a prison term of five years and eleven months.
Zeno B. Baucus and Bryan T. Dake, two assistant US attorneys, are handling the case’s prosecution. The inquiry was carried out by the FBI and Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office.
This case was brought under the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative, which was established in 2006 to prevent the rise in crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children that are made possible by technology. Project Safe Childhood works to protect children by looking into and punishing people who engage in child sexual exploitation through a network of federal, state, local, and advocacy groups. It is carried out in collaboration with organizations like the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. In order to help state and local law enforcement agencies better respond to crimes against children that are made possible by technology, the ICAC Task Force Program was established.
