Jury finds previous sex offender guilty of coercion and child pornography charges

BILLINGS - A previous sex offender from Billings who attempted to obtain nude photos from a person he was thought was 12 years old was found guilty by a federal jury today, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Following a one-and-a-half-day trial, Steven Dwayne Scott, 51, was found guilty of one count of attempted coercion and enticement and one count of possession of child pornography. Scott faces 10 years to lifetime imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 5 years to a lifetime of supervised release on both counts of conviction.

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided and will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for January 8, 2026. Scott was detained pending further proceedings.

The government alleged in court documents and at trial that in March 2024, law enforcement, acting in an undercover capacity and posing as a 12-year-old juvenile female, electronically reached out to Scott on Facebook. Scott accepted the invite and the two parties began conversing. The communications eventually transitioned to KIK.

The communications lasted from roughly March 7, 2024, until May 28, 2024. During the chats, Scott was put on notice of the "child's" age, indicated he should not be talking to her yet continued, and sought pictures of her, including nude pictures. On May 21, 2024, Scott sent the "child" images of a gift card and payment for possible nude images from her. Scott provided instructions to the undercover officer as to the best way to verify money was on the card. Thereafter, on May 27, 2024, Scott sent a $25 Amazon gift card to the "child," again for the purpose of obtaining images from the child. The last communication law enforcement received from Scott was on May 28, 2024.

When law enforcement reached out to Scott, he was a registered sex offender as a result of a 1997 conviction for Sexual Abuse of a Minor, issued in the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota.

Finally, in 2018 Scott corresponded with multiple juvenile females online. One of those children was Jane Doe 1. A law enforcement investigation stemming from Jane Doe 1's disclosure led to a search warrant of Scott's Snapchat account and the discovery of his interest in juvenile females. Sexually explicit images of Jane Doe 2 were discovered on Scott's Snapchat account.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Zeno Baucus prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted by the FBI.

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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