GREAT FALLS—A Fort Belknap man convicted of sexually abusing a girl on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation was sentenced this week to 22 years in prison and 15 years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said today.

James Edward Snell, Jr., 42, pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual abuse.

U.S. District Judge Brian Morris presided at the Oct. 22 sentencing hearing.

Prosecutors said in court records that an investigation of Snell, and defendant Geneva Marie Nadeau, found photographs and videos of them in 2015 sexually abusing a girl, who was under the age of 12. Nadeau confirmed that Snell was in a photograph of a sex act involving the victim. Nadeau was sentenced in February to 22 years in prison and 15 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to aggravated sexual abuse.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Weldon and Jared Cobell prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI and Fort Belknap law enforcement.

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GREAT FALLS – A Fort Belknap man admitted on Thursday to sexually abusing a girl on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

James Edward Snell, Jr., 42, pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual abuse. Snell faces a minimum mandatory 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years to life of supervised release.

U.S. District Judge Brian Morris presided and set sentencing for Oct. 24. Snell remains in custody.

Prosecutors said in court records that an investigation of Snell, and defendant Geneva Marie Nadeau, found photographs and videos of them in 2015 sexually abusing a girl, who was under the age of 12. Nadeau confirmed that Snell was in a photograph of a sex act involving the victim. Nadeau was sentenced in February to 22 years in prison and 15 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to aggravated sexual abuse.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Weldon and Jared Cobell prosecuted 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 Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan and pleading not guilty on April 11 was:

JOSEPH MATTHEW BALLANTYNE, 60, on charges of failure to register as a sex offender. If convicted of the most serious charge, Ballantyne faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years to life of supervised release. Ballantyne was detained. The case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service. Pacer case reference. 19-42.

Appearing in Great Falls before U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Johnston and pleading not guilty on April 11 was:

JAMES SNELL, 42, of Fort Belknap, on a 14-count indictment charging him with abusive sexual contact, sexual exploitation of a child and aggravated sexual abuse. If convicted of the most serious crime, Snell faces a minimum mandatory 30 years to life in prison, a $250,000 fine and from five years to life of supervised release. Snell was detained. The case was investigated by the FBI. Pacer case reference. 19-20.

Appearing in Great Falls before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah C. Lynch and pleading not guilty on April 9 was:

GREGORY GEORGE DENNY, 46, of Great Falls, on charges of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and felon in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Denny faces a minimum mandatory five years to 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and five years of supervised release. Denny was detained. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Homeland Security Investigations. Pacer case reference. 18-24.

KENNETH SKUNKCAP, 62, of Browning, on charges of assault resulting in substantial injury to dating partner. If convicted of the most serious crime, Skunkcap faces a maximum five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Skunkcap was detained. The case was investigated by the FBI. Pacer case reference. 19-22.

MARLIN LAYNE BULL CALF, 21, of Browning, on charges of strangulation. If convicted of the most serious crime, Bull Calf faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Bull Calf was detained. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Pacer case reference. 19-21.

Appearing in Missoula before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah C. Lynch and pleading not guilty on April 8 was:

JENNIFER LYNN FOLEY, 32, of Missoula, on charges of conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession with intent to distribute meth and possession of a firearm during drug trafficking crime. Foley was detained. If convicted of the most serious crime, Foley faces a minimum mandatory 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and a minimum five years of supervised release. Pacer case reference. 19-20.

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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