A Sylvan Lake man arrested in Montana in a child pornography sting operation earlier this year has been sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Andrew Scott Brown, 43, pleaded guilty in August to attempted coercion and enticement and child pornography and was sentenced on Wednesday. His prison sentence will be followed by a lifetime of supervised release, says the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Montana in a statement.
Brown travelled from Canada to Billings, Montana last May with the belief he was meeting up with a 12-year-old girl he had met online for sex.
The girl never existed but was an undercover agent who had posted online in January 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," says a U.S. Attorney's Office news release.
"Over the next several weeks, Brown chatted with the undercover and sent messages that were sexual in nature."
At one point, Brown requested that they continue their conversations on a more secure electronic platform. He also sent the undercover officer multiple videos involving child sex abuse material and suggested that he should be producing that kind of material with his believed child victim.
When he went to Billings to meet the 12-year-old, he was arrested by law enforcement. A search warrant of electronic media in his possession turned up 20 images and three videos of child sexual abuse material.
"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 was all too real," said U.S.Attorney Jesse Laslovich.
"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.
Brown was arrested as part of a U.S.-wide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse called Project Safe Childhood. The U.S.Attorney's Office prosecuted the case and Yellowstone County's Sheriffs Office, Billings Police Department and the FBI conducted the investigation.
