Red Lodge man sentenced to six years in prison for possessing child pornography

BILLINGS - A Red Lodge man who had Child Sex Abuse Material (CSAM) on his phone was sentenced Wednesday to six years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, Acting U.S. Attorney Mark Steger Smith said.

Jeremy Dean Ruby, 50, pleaded guilty in April 2026 to possessing child pornography.

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided. A hearing was scheduled for Nov. 5, 2026, to determine how much Ruby should be required to pay his victims in restitution.

The government alleged in court documents that Ruby kept videos on his phone that contained Child Sex Abuse Material. From July 2024 to March 2025 law enforcement suspected Ruby of trafficking illegal drugs and obtained a warrant to search his home where they collected his cell phone. On the phone, investigators found hundreds of videos of CSAM involving children between the ages of 2 and 12.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Zeno Baucus prosecuted the case. The FBI and the Red Lodge Police Department 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.