Distribution of child pornography sends Billings man to prison for 14 years

BILLINGS  — A Billings man who admitted to distributing child pornography using social media was sentenced today to 14 years in prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

Stetson Lee Hubbard, 33, pleaded guilty in June to distribution of child pornography.

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

The government alleged in court documents that in January 2020, law enforcement began an undercover investigation using a social media application and posed as woman. Law enforcement entered multiple public groups that appeared to be focused on child pornography. While in one such group, a member of the group distributed child pornography. An investigation determined the distribution originated in Billings and ultimately led to Hubbard. When interviewed, Hubbard acknowledged using the social media application and that he may have distributed child pornography on that application. Law enforcement subsequently found more than 1,160 images of child pornography on Hubbard’s cellular phone.

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

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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