GREAT FALLS – In a disturbing case of online exploitation, Cassidy Winters, 29, of Great Falls, Montana, was sentenced to 28 months in prison for possession of child pornography.
The sentencing took place on February 17, 2016, at the Federal District Court in Great Falls. Winters will also be required to pay $12,500 in restitution to six victims.
According to court documents, Winters was charged by superseding information on February 17, 2016. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyndee Peterson stated that, if required to prove its case at trial, the government was prepared to introduce evidence that Winters possessed multiple files containing child pornography between December 2012 and May 2015.
The investigation into Winters’ activities began in March 2015, when agents from the U.S. Secret Service and the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force downloaded files from an IP address as part of an online investigation to identify individuals sharing child porn over the Internet using a peer-to-peer file sharing network. They identified the registered subscriber of the IP address as Winters and obtained a search warrant for his home.
On May 27, 2015, agents served the warrant and seized several computers and digital devices from Winters’ bedroom. The items were forensically analyzed and contained image and video files depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The agents also recovered search terms connected to the software that indicated Winters had sought out known images and series of child pornography.
At the sentencing, a witness testified that Winters had engaged in this criminal conduct for five or six years. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyndee Peterson and investigated by the United States Secret Service, the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, and the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Cassidy Winters, 29, of Great Falls, Montana, was sentenced to 28 months in prison for possession of child pornography. He will also be required to pay $12,500 in restitution to six victims. The sentencing took place on February 17, 2016, in Federal District Court in Great Falls.
Related Federal Cases
- Christopher Todd Boudreau, Attempted Coercion and Possession of Child Pornography, Montana 2022 · Texas
- Zachary Thomas Armstrong, Child Pornography Possession, Montana 2017 · Texas
- Benjamin Thomas Urry, Child Pornography Possession, Montana 2022 · Wyoming
- Brandon Wayne Roos, Possession and Receipt of Child Pornography, Montana 2023 · Washington
- Randall Allen Flatlip, Possession of Child Pornography, Montana 2022 · Washington
Key Facts
- State: Montana
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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