Baker man sentenced to two years in prison for possessing child pornography

BILLINGS  — A Baker man who admitted to possessing child pornography was sentenced today to two years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

Dane Ralph James Curry, 40, pleaded guilty in August to possession of child pornography.

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided. The court also ordered $2,511 restitution.

In court documents, the government alleged that in October 2021, law enforcement began an investigation of Curry after it received reports that he had produced child pornography. A minor person, identified as Jane Doe, disclosed to law enforcement that Curry arranged to take sexually explicit picture of her and provided her with alcohol for that purpose. This conduct led to a search warrant of a social media account associated with Curry and the discovery of child pornography on the account.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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 www.justice.gov/psc.

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