Robert Ernest Peeples, Jr. Sentenced in U.S. District Court
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Missoula, on September 6, 2011, before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy, ROBERT ERNEST PEEPLES, JR., a 37-year-old resident of Missoula, appeared for sentencing. PEEPLES was sentenced to a term of:
Prison: 84 months
Special Assessment: $100
Forfeiture: computer
Supervised Release: 15 years
PEEPLES was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to receipt of child pornography.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyndee L. Peterson, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
Between April 2009 and January 2010, the Missoula County Sheriff's Office determined that a computer assigned to an IP address in Missoula had known child pornography images or videos available for download on the Gnutella network. Detectives determined the residential address of the IP address account holder and obtained a search warrant for that residence.
On February 18, 2010, detectives executed a search warrant of the residence. An "E-machine" desktop was located in a basement bedroom. Detectives determined the computer belonged to PEEPLES.
When interviewed, PEEPLES stated his computer was password protected and no others had access to his computer. He admitted that he downloaded the LimeWire program for music and pornography. He also admitted he had downloaded child pornography.
Forensic analysis of the E-Machine computer determined LimeWire was installed on the current system. The analyst found thousands of files depicting child pornography. The files were acquired using the computer and the Internet between approximately December 2007 and February 2010.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that PEEPLES will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, PEEPLES 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 Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, the Missoula County Sheriff's Office, the Missoula Police Department, and the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation.
