The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on March 5, 2010, before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, RYAN CHRISTOPHER WHITE, a 22-year-old resident of Billings, appeared for sentencing. WHITE was sentenced to a term of:

• Prison: 148 months, consecutive to a state court sentence

• Special Assessment: $100

• Supervised Release: 25 years

WHITE was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to possession of child pornography.

In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcia K. Hurd, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

In 2006, at age 18, WHITE was convicted in Plentywood of sexual intercourse without consent for having sex with a 13-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl. WHITE, a Level 2 registered sex offender, received a suspended sentence and was on supervision with the Department of Corrections in Billings.

On September 23, 2009, when confronted by his probation officer regarding a threatening text message he had sent to another person, WHITE admitted that he had pornographic images on his cellular telephone. Found were 34 images of child pornography, including images of toddlers and infants and children engaged in sexually explicit conduct and in sexual activity with adult males. The images traveled in interstate or foreign commerce via the Internet and/or cellular telephone.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that WHITE will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, WHITE does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.

The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Billings Police Department, the Montana Department of Corrections and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Regional Computer Forensic Lab.

 

 

Return to Top