BILLINGS – A Billings woman accused of taking three people to the bus station in Billings for a trip to Georgia to engage in commercial sexual activity pleaded guilty to charges today, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Destiny Lachelle Nilsen, also known as "Diamond", 26, pleaded guilty to transportation of a person with intent to engage in prostitution. Nilsen faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan presided. Nilsen was released pending further proceedings.

Court records filed by the prosecution said the evidence showed that in August 2019 Nilsen was affiliated with a co-defendant and was aware that the co-defendant was involved in commercial sex in Billings and elsewhere, including other states.

In August 2019, Nilsen drove the co-defendant and two women, identified as Jane Does, to the bus station. The co-defendant and the two Jane Does were going to Georgia to engage in commercial sex. Prostitution is illegal in Georgia. In a subsequent jail call, Nilsen admitted her participation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zeno Baucus and Bryan Dake are prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the FBI.

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The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that the following persons were arraigned or appeared this week before U.S. Magistrate judges on indictments handed down by the Grand Jury or on criminal complaints. The charging documents are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty:

Appearing in Great Falls before U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris and pleading not guilty on March 11 was:

Roderick Kale Ledford, 38, of Great Falls, on charges of felon in possession of a firearm and unlawful drug user in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Ledford faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Ledford was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Great Falls Police Department investigated the case. Pacer case reference. 20-23.

Appearing on March 10 and pleading not guilty was:

Don Fred Baldwin, 47, of Merced, CA, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute meth, use of communications facility in causing and facilitating the commission of felonies. If convicted of the most serious crime, Baldwin faces a minimum mandatory 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. Baldwin was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI, Merced Police Department and Fort Peck Tribes Department of Law and Justice investigated the case. Pacer case reference. 20-05.

Appearing on March 9 and pleading not guilty was:

Jennifer Lee Marie Walkingeagle, 29, of Wolf Point, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute oxycodone and possession with intent to distribute oxycodone. If convicted of the most serious crime, Walkingeagle faces a maximum 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine and three years of supervised release. Walkingeagle was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI, Fort Peck Tribes Department of Law and Justice and Montana Highway Patrol investigated the case. Pacer case reference. 20-15.

Charles Clark, 26, of Wolf Point, on charges of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. If convicted of the most serious crime, Clark faces a minimum mandatory 10 years to life in prison, a $250,000 fine and at least five years of supervised release. Clark was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI and Fort Peck Tribes Department of Law and Justice investigated the case. Pacer case reference. 20-20.

Appearing in Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan on March 12 and pleading not guilty was:

Destiny Lachelle Nilsen, 26, of Billings, on charges of transportation of a person with intent to engage in prostitution. If convicted of the most serious crime, Nilsen faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Nilsen was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI investigated the case. Pacer case reference. 19-152.

If any of the above cases are of interest to your media organization and the community it serves, we encourage you to monitor the progress of the case regularly through the U.S. District Court calendar and the PACER system.

To establish a PACER account, which will allow you to review documents filed in the case, please go to, http://www.pacer.gov/register.html. To access the district court’s calendar, please go to https://ecf.mtd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PublicCalendar.pl.

 

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