Taurean Jerome Weber, Child Pornography, Montana 2023

MISSOULA MAN SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS IN PRISON FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CRIMES

A former Missoula resident has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for transporting, distributing and receiving child pornography using the internet and social media, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

Taurean Jerome Weber, 40, formerly of Missoula and recently of Littleton, Colorado, was found guilty of all eight counts, including four counts of transportation of child pornography, three counts of distribution and one count of receipt of child pornography, after a three-day trial in July.

The jury’s verdict came after the government presented evidence that Weber used Dropbox, Instagram, and electronic devices to obtain, store, and distribute child pornography from about September 2016 to July 2020. During this time, he distributed or possessed at least 715 video files and 3,567 images of sexually explicit conduct, which equates to 57,192 images.

Despite Instagram repeatedly disabling Weber’s accounts for distributing the content, he quickly created new accounts and resumed sharing child pornography. The investigation began in October 2019 when Instagram reported child pornography on its platform to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which sent those CyberTips to members of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force for investigation.

Records obtained through subpoenas and search warrants found evidence that Weber was the creator and user of the social media and email accounts. Investigators served a search warrant on Weber’s residence, seized computers and storage devices and determined they contained video and image files depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided over the case and ordered $27,000 restitution to nine victims who sought restitution. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cyndee L. Peterson and Karla E. Painter prosecuted the case, which was investigated by Missoula Police Department Det. Katie Hall, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and FBI.

This case was initiated under the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative, which was launched in 2006 to combat the proliferation of technology-facilitated crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children.

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