Martin City man pleads guilty to child pornography charges

MISSOULA - A Martin City man accused of producing child pornography admitted to charges today, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

The defendant, Raymond Owen Bonner, Jr., 40, pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography. Bonner faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 15 to 30 years, a $250,000 fine, and not less than 5 years to a lifetime of supervised release for production of child pornography, and a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 5 to 20 years, a $250,000 fine, and not less than 5 years to a lifetime of supervised release for distribution of child pornography.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided. U.S. District Court Judge Dana L. Christensen will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing has been set for November 19, 2025. Bonner was detained pending further proceedings.

The government alleged in court documents that in August 2024, an FBI undercover agent was operating in applications known for trafficking in child sexual abuse material. The agent found that a user had posted messages to a chat room in one such application in June 2024 and July 2024 stating that user had access to a six-year-old girl (Jane Doe) and was sexually abusing that child. The user, later identified as Bonner, posted images and videos of his abuse that verified his hands-on access to Doe. Bonner told other users in the chat room he was Doe's babysitter.

Investigators responded to Bonner's address in Martin City on September 5, 2024. Bonner fled his residence prior to law enforcement's arrival. In a home near Bonner's residence, FBI agents located Jane Doe. Doe and others verified that Bonner was her babysitter and later identified Bonner as the person abusing her in the images and videos he had distributed. The FBI also seized several devices from Bonner's home, including a cell phone.

The FBI searched the phone and found images and videos of Doe that were the same as the images and videos of Doe posted by Bonner to the chat room. Bonner was located by law enforcement and arrested on September 19, 2024.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Lowney prosecuted the case. The FBI and Flathead County Sheriff's Office conducted the investigation.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.

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