Bozeman man sentenced to more than three years in prison for possessing child pornography

MISSOULA—A Bozeman man who admitted to viewing and downloading child pornography for years was sentenced today to 41 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Bruce Alan Gagne, 59, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography in June.

U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided. Judge Molloy also ordered the forfeiture of computer equipment and USB storage devices seized in the case.

The prosecution said in court records that in May 2018, the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office received a USB storage device, or thumb drive, with suspected images of child pornography and that the device was known to belong to Gagne. A detective examined the thumb drive after getting a search warrant and determined the device contained images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. A Bozeman Police detective, who is a member of the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, got a warrant to search Gagne’s residence. During the search, officers seized numerous items including a USB device and laptop, which were examined and found to contain images and videos of child pornography. The child pornography included prepubescent children. In an interview the day of the search, Gagne admitted he had viewed and downloaded child pornography for years.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyndee Peterson prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Bozeman Police Department, ICAC Task Force, and Homeland Security Investigations.

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