Bobby Manuel Argo, Receipt of Child Pornography, Montana 2024

A California man has admitted to receiving and possessing child pornography of a minor girl he befriended while living in Missoula, Montana.

Bobby Manuel Argo, 23, pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography in a federal court Monday, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

Argo faces a mandatory minimum of five years to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release.

According to court documents, Argo befriended Jane Doe 1, a girl under the age of 18, while living in Missoula between 2021 and early 2022. The girl confided in Argo that someone online was coercing her to send sexually explicit images of herself. Instead of helping, Argo offered to assist the perpetrator in extorting Jane Doe 1 for explicit images of herself and others.

Law enforcement identified the perpetrator in January 2022 and discovered that Argo had received a video of Jane Doe 1 engaged in sexually explicit content through the internet while he was still in Missoula.

Argo was detained pending further proceedings and sentencing was set for September 13 before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin D. Hargrove is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Missoula Police Department.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mt/pr/california-man-admits-receiving-child-pornography-while-living-missoula