The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Missoula, on December 21, 2011, before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy, DAVID DWAIN SLEDGE, a 60-year-old resident of Kalispell, appeared for sentencing. SLEDGE was sentenced to a term of:

Prison: 196 months, consecutive to a state sentence

Special Assessment: $100

Supervised Release: life

SLEDGE was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to sexual exploitation of children.

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:

The Flathead County Sheriff's Office received a report involving SLEDGE. An investigation led to the discovery of child pornography.

The investigation revealed that during the summer of 2008 while staying in Glacier National Park, SLEDGE took photographs of a female minor, while she was nude and in the bathtub. The images depict the lascivious exhibition of the victim's pubic area. SLEDGE's penis is also displayed in the foreground of some of the photographs while the nude victim is in the background.

A computer and digital camera were seized from SLEDGE's residence. A forensic examiner located the images on the computer and determined the camera was used to produce the images.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that SLEDGE will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, SLEDGE 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 Montana Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, the Flathead County Sheriff's Office, and the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation.

 

 

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