Colorado man pleads guilty to child pornography offenses

BILLINGS — A Colorado man accused of producing and distributing child pornography and transferring obscene material to a minor admitted to charges on March 27, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said today.

The defendant, Tyrell Forest Anderson, 35, pleaded guilty to three counts in an indictment charging him with production of child pornography, distribution of child pornography, and transfer of obscene material to a minor. Anderson faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years and a maximum term of 30 years for the production charge, 5 to 20 years on the distribution charge, and up to 10 years for transferring obscene material. He also faces a total term of supervised release of 5 years to life, fines of $250,000 per charge, and several thousands of dollars of special assessments. Pursuant to terms of the plea agreement between the parties, Anderson cannot be sentenced to a total term greater than 27 years.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy Cavan presided and U.S. District Judge Susan Watters will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing will be set by the Court and Anderson was detained pending further proceedings.

The government alleged in court documents that in October 2022, a Gallatin High School student, Jane Doe 8, reported she had inappropriate communications with Anderson over Snapchat approximately two years earlier, when she was in eighth grade. The Bozeman Police Department began investigating and identified numerous minors Anderson solicited for sex or for sexually explicit images via Snapchat in exchange for money, nicotine, or drugs between 2022 and 2024. In addition, two Bozeman-area juvenile females had a sexual encounter with a college-aged male and recorded the encounter. Anderson came into possession of the video and distributed the video and images from the video to local minors with whom he was communicating over Snapchat.

In February 2024, Anderson communicated with Jane Doe 1 over Snapchat. Jane Doe 1 was, at that time, 13 years old and located in Yellowstone County. Anderson said he wanted to have sex with her and tried to convince her to meet up with him. Anderson asked her to send him specific images, including topless and nude images, which she sent. Anderson also asked Jane Doe 1 if she was going to “snitch” on him because the age scared him and if they got caught he would get in trouble. Data recovered from Anderson’s Snapchat account showed that Jane Doe 1 sent Anderson multiple images and videos of child pornography.

Also in February 2024, Anderson added John Doe 1 on Snapchat. Anderson sent John Doe 1 the video of the two juvenile females having sexual contact with the college-aged male and claimed to be the male in the video. The video depicted the two females providing oral sex to the male. Anderson knew the video depicted minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct because he communicated with at least one of the minors in the video and referenced her by name when transmitting the video to other local children.

Also in February 2024, Anderson added Jane Doe 7 on Snapchat and requested sexually explicit images or sex from her. Anderson asked Jane Doe 7 how old she was, and she told him she was 14. Unsolicited, Anderson sent Jane Doe 7 approximately 20 images of nude females. Jane Doe 7 recognized one of the images as one of her classmates, also a minor. Anderson also sent her an unsolicited photograph of his penis.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case. The Bozeman Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.

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