MISSOULA—A Bozeman man who admitted to viewing and downloading child pornography for years was sentenced today to 41 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Bruce Alan Gagne, 59, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography in June.

U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided. Judge Molloy also ordered the forfeiture of computer equipment and USB storage devices seized in the case.

The prosecution said in court records that in May 2018, the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office received a USB storage device, or thumb drive, with suspected images of child pornography and that the device was known to belong to Gagne. A detective examined the thumb drive after getting a search warrant and determined the device contained images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. A Bozeman Police detective, who is a member of the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, got a warrant to search Gagne’s residence. During the search, officers seized numerous items including a USB device and laptop, which were examined and found to contain images and videos of child pornography. The child pornography included prepubescent children. In an interview the day of the search, Gagne admitted he had viewed and downloaded child pornography for years.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyndee Peterson prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Bozeman Police Department, ICAC Task Force, and Homeland Security Investigations.

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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 Missoula before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah C. Lynch and pleading not guilty on May 15 was:

Aaron Matthew Manning, 29, of Bozeman, on charges of distribution of child pornography, transportation of child porn and receipt of child porn. If convicted of the most serious crime, Manning faces a minimum five years to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years to life of supervised release. Manning was detained. The case was investigated by the Bozeman Police Department, the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Pacer case reference. 19-11.

Bruce Alan Gagne, 59, of Bozeman, on charges of receipt of child pornography. If convicted of the most serious crime, Gagne faces a minimum five years to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years to life of supervised release. Gagne was released pending further proceedings. The case was investigated by the Bozeman Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Pacer case reference. 19-12.

Francis Edward Burke, Jr., 25, of Polson, on charges of felon in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Burke faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Burke was detained. The case was investigated by the Polson Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Pacer case reference. 19-22.

Dominique Autherallen Hamilton, 22, of Helena, and Jada Marie Johnson, 23, of Helena, on charges of bank fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. If convicted of the most serious crime, Hamilton and Johnson face a maximum 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine and five years of supervised release. Hamilton and Johnson were released pending further proceedings. The case was investigated by the FBI. Pacer case reference. 19-04.

Jeffrey Kenneth Knapp, 41, of Montana City, on charges of felon in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Knapp faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Knapp was released pending further proceedings. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Pacer case reference. 19-3.

Appearing in Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan and pleading not guilty on May 16 was:

Michael Alan McNulty, 54, of Billings, on charges of conspiracy with intent to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. If convicted of the most serious crime, McNulty faces a minimum mandatory 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and a minimum five years of supervised release. McNulty was detained. The case was investigated by the FBI. Pacer case reference. 19-51.

Harley Matthew Isis McMillan, 24, a transient, on charges of sexual abuse of a minor. If convicted of the most serious crime, McMillan faces a maximum 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years to life of supervised release. McMillan was released pending further proceedings. The case was investigated by the FBI. Pacer case reference. 19-50.

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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