Billings man sentenced to 5 years in prison for sexual abuse on the Crow Indian Reservation

BILLINGS - A Billings man who sexually assaulted a child on the Crow Indian Reservation was sentenced today to 60 months in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, Acting U.S. Attorney Tim Racicot said.

Matthew Paul Stopsatprettyplaces, 49, was convicted by a jury in December 2025 of abusive sexual contact of a child.

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.

The government alleged in court documents and at trial that in 2019, Stopsatprettyplaces gave 9-year-old Jane Doe a ride to a family member's residence in Hardin. En route, he took advantage of Jane Doe while she was asleep. He first put his hands on Jane Doe's thighs, which woke her up. But Stopsatprettyplaces continued the assault by putting his hand on her inner thighs and then under her shirt, fondling her bare breasts. On a subsequent occasion at Jane Doe's house in Hardin, Stopsatprettyplaces again assaulted Jane Doe, ten 10 years old, by kissing her all over and fondling her over her clothes.

Jane Doe disclosed the sexual abuse a few years later to a therapist, who mandatorily reported to the child abuse hotline, which triggered an immediate investigation by the FBI.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelsey Hendricks and Paul Vestal prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted by the FBI.

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