Billings, Montana – According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, a Billings man admitted on March 16 to forcing a young girl in New York to create and email him sexually explicit photos of herself.
Jeffrey Eugene Herbert, 34, entered a guilty plea to both producing and possessing child porn. Both offenses entail obligatory minimum sentences of 15 to 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, 5–lifetimes of supervised release, and special assessments.
The prosecution claimed in court filings that a 13-year-old girl named Jane Doe and her parents, who were situated in New York informed police authorities in June 2022 that Jane Doe had been forced to create child pornography. A forensic examination of the girl’s phone indicated that “amberbaby 14141,” a user of the social media app Triller, was abusing her sexually. In June 2022, there were about 870 communications between the two accounts. The connection between “amberbaby 14141” and Herbert’s home was established by investigators. In October 2022, a search warrant was used to enter Herbert’s home.
Herbert acknowledged using the “amberbaby 14141” account to force underage girls to create sexually explicit content in a police interview. Also, Herbert provided law police with the location of child porn on his cell phone. As a result, detectives discovered a secret folder with a video showing a young, naked girl—approximately 10 years old—engaging in lewd behavior.
According to court records, Herbert was previously released from remand on December 5, 2022. The court determined that Herbert had disproved the common assumption that he posed a flight risk or an immediate threat at the time.
During a detention hearing on Tuesday, March 21, the prosecution upheld his earlier request to hold Herbert in custody until his punishment was determined.
Herbert has shown that he is not a danger to the neighborhood, that he has not broken any of the terms of his release, and that he is not a flight risk, according to Herbert’s defense attorney.
The prosecution disagreed, arguing that “extraordinary circumstances” must exist and that they must be “clear and persuasive” in accordance with the Plea Agreement. Additionally, he disagreed that following the terms of release and holding a job are “extraordinary” conditions; rather, he said that those things are “expected” of a defendant in a criminal case.
Judge Timothy Cavan, who was presiding, questioned Herbert about the special circumstances that justified his prolonged parole until the end of the case. The defendant “has a wife, a little child, and he operates his own business,” according to Herbert’s counsel. He continued by saying that Herbert “has to take care of his family and get his affairs in order.”
Although acknowledging Herbert’s compliance with the requirements of pretrial release and his remarks on his family, Judge Cavan stated that he agreed with the Government. “They are not unusual conditions.”
The United States Marshals Service was given custody of Herbert as a result of the remand.
