GREAT FALLS — A Box Elder man who admitted having sex with a minor girl and to recording the activity on his cell phone was sentenced today to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release, U.S.  Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Christopher Brown, 32, pleaded guilty in June to possession of child pornography and to sexual abuse of a minor.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.

"The defendant not only subjected this child to repeated sexual abuse for his own gratification, but he also filmed the act of exploiting the child for his own gratification. The sentence in this case should serve as a warning that those who traumatize our children will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law," U.S. Attorney Alme said.

The prosecution said in court documents that from July 2018 to January 2020, Brown had sex with a minor girl on the Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation. On Jan. 2, 2020, Brown video recorded himself having sex with the victim and kept that video on his cell phone. Brown began messaging the victim on social media when she was 11 years old.  

In an interview with the FBI, Brown admitted he had been in a sexual relationship with the victim since 2018 and had had intercourse with her six times. Brown also admitted to making a video of a recent sexual encounter with the victim and that the video was on his cell phone.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Cobell prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI and Chippewa Cree Law Enforcement Services.

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GREAT FALLS – A Box Elder man accused of having sex with a minor pleaded guilty on Monday to charges, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Christopher Brown, 32, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and sexual abuse of a minor. Brown faces a maximum 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release on the sexual abuse of a minor charge and a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years to life of supervised release on the child pornography charge.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided. Judge Morris set sentencing for Sept. 30. Brown was detained.

The prosecution said in court documents that on Jan. 21, a Rocky Boy's Police Department officer was on patrol at about 11 p.m. on Lower Box Elder Road on the Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation when he observed a vehicle parked at the rodeo grounds. Because there was no rodeo occurring at that time of night, the officer decided to check on the vehicle. As the officer approached, the vehicle's headlights came on and the driver attempted to drive away. The officer initiated a traffic stop.

As the officer approached the vehicle, he observed the back windows were fogged over. Brown identified himself as the driver. Reclined in the passenger seat was a minor female, identified in court records as Jane Doe. At the time, Jane Doe was between the ages of 12 and 16. Brown and the minor girl told the officer separately that the other had initiated their meeting that night. The officer arrested Brown on an outstanding warrant.

In an interview with the FBI, Brown admitted he had been in a sexual relationship with Jane Doe since 2018, and had had sexual intercourse with her six times on the Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation. Brown also admitted to making a video of a recent sexual encounter with Doe and that the video was on his cell phone.

Jane Doe confirmed that she had had sexual intercourse with Brown several times and that Brown had made a video recording of them having sex in January 2020.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Cobell is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the FBI and Chippewa Cree Law Enforcement Services.

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GREAT FALLS – A former assistant basketball coach at Stonechild College on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation was arraigned today on an indictment accusing him of crimes involving sexual exploitation of a child, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Christopher Brown, 31, of Box Elder, pleaded not guilty to sexual exploitation of a child, transportation of child pornography and sexual abuse of a minor.

If convicted of the most serious crime, Brown faces a mandatory minimum 15 years to 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and at least five years to life of supervised release.

The indictment is merely an accusation. Brown is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Johnston presided. Brown is detained pending further proceedings.

Brown, who worked as an assistant basketball coach at Stonechild College, initially was charged by a criminal complaint with sexual abuse of a minor.

The indictment alleges that in January in Hill County and on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation, Brown sexually exploited a child and used a cell phone to transport an image of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The indictment also alleges that between July 2018 and January 2020, Brown engaged in a sexual act with a minor.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Cobell is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the FBI and Rocky Boy’s Police Department.

Pacer case reference. 20-12.

If the above case is of interest to your media organization and the community it serves, we encourage you to monitor its progress 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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GREAT FALLS—An assistant basketball coach at Stonechild College on the Rocky Boy’s Reservation appeared today on charges he sexually abused a minor, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Christopher Brown, 31, of Box Elder, was charged by a criminal complaint with sexual abuse of a minor. If convicted of the most serious crime, Brown faces a maximum 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release. The case will be presented to a grand jury for an indictment.

The complaint is merely an accusation, and Brown is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Johnston presided at the hearing and detained Brown pending further proceedings.

Court records filed by the prosecution accuse Brown of having sex with a minor girl multiple times from July 2018 to December 2019 on the Rocky Boy’s Reservation. Brown worked an assistant basketball coach for Stonechild College and also tutored and helped with coaching basketball at Rocky Boy’s middle and high schools. Through his work as a coach and relationships with friends, Brown became acquainted with the victim.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Cobell is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the FBI and the Rocky Boy’s Police Department.

Pacer case reference. 20-04.

If 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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