Eugene Thomas Crawford, Jr., Sentenced In U.S. District Court

The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on January 18, 2013, before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, EUGENE THOMAS CRAWFORD, a 46-year-old resident of Glendive, appeared for sentencing. CRAWFORD was sentenced to a term of:

Prison: 180 months

Special Assessment: $100

Supervised Release: life

CRAWFORD was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to receipt 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 2010, a computer, later found to belong to CRAWFORD, was found to have child pornography images and videos available via peer-to-peer file sharing programs. A search warrant was issued for CRAWFORD's residence in Glendive in January 2011, and various items of computer equipment was seized. When questioned, CRAWFORD admitted that he used the peer-to-peer file sharing program Limewire to receive and possess videos and images of child pornography.

A subsequent forensic examination revealed hundreds of images and movies of child pornography that CRAWFORD had received via the Internet during 2009 and continuing until the equipment was seized. CRAWFORD possessed images and movies of children clearly prepubescent and children engaged in sadistic or masochistic abuse or other depictions of violence. CRAWFORD had thousands of images and 125 videos of child pornography.

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

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab "resources."