Bozeman Man Sentenced on Child Pornography Charges

The United States Attorney’s Office announced that KEVIN SCOTT NESSLAND, 41, of Bozeman, Montana, was sentenced to 84 months in prison followed by 15 years’ supervised release during a federal court hearing in Missoula, on March 6, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen. Nessland was sentenced in connection with his November 2013 bench trial conviction on three counts of receipt of child pornography.

In a trial brief filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyndee Peterson, the government stated that defendant Kevin Scott Nessland was surreptitiously observing (through holes he made in the attic) and recording the adult females in the apartment next to his apartment in Bozeman, Montana. Nessland’s residence was searched pursuant to a search warrant. Law enforcement seized several items, including electronic devices.

When the crimes (state charges) were first detected, Nessland immediately left the Bozeman area. This occurred prior to the search of his residence. When he left Bozeman, Nessland took some of his computers and equipment. Nessland called the Bozeman Police Department from the road, and multiple telephonic conversations with Bozeman Police were recorded. During the telephonic conversations, Nessland stated that he has sex addiction issues and was seeking treatment.

Nessland was subsequently located in Idaho after law enforcement officers responded to his vehicle during Nessland’s suicide attempt. At that time, he was arrested on a warrant for the state charges and returned to Montana. Electronic items found in his vehicle were seized and transferred to the Bozeman Police Department in Montana.

When detectives were searching one of Nessland’s external hard drives for evidence of the burglary and surreptitious observation crimes, the detective found images of child pornography. Detectives obtained a second search warrant and submitted the computers and electronic devices to the Montana DCI Computer Crime Lab for forensic examination. This included the devices seized from Nessland’s residence and vehicle.

Numerous items were forensically examined. A DCI Forensic Examiner found evidence which tied the computers to certain of the drives. The examiner located more than 1,700 files which depicted child pornography.

The case was investigated by the Bozeman Police Department, the Montana Department of Criminal Investigations, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.