The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Missoula, on Sept. 26, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy, DOUGLAS ROBERT BROOKS, a 51-year-old resident of Missoula, was sentenced to a term of:
Prison: 180 months
Special Assessment: $100
Supervised Release: lifetime
BROOKS was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to accessing with the intent to view child pornography.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyndee L. Peterson, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
In 2000, BROOKS was convicted of sexual assault.
On Nov. 19, 2012, a state probation officer advised the Missoula Police Department that a confidential informant (CI) had information about BROOKS. The CI stated that BROOKS had shown him child pornography on BROOKS' computer in BROOKS' residence. A search warrant for his residence was obtained and a computer and thumb drive were seized, both of which were then forensically examined.
The examiner located files depicting pornographic images of children.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that BROOKS will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, BROOKS does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Montana State Probation and Parole, the Missoula Police Department, the Bozeman Police Department, and the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), 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 the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab "resources."
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
