Timothy J. Racicot Acting United States Attorney for the District of Montana | Wikipedia
A woman from Hardin, Montana, Veronica Clarice Baker, aged 29, appeared in court in Billings today for her arraignment. She faces charges related to the sex trafficking of a minor. U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme confirmed that Baker entered a plea of not guilty to the indictment, which accuses her of one count of sex trafficking a minor.
If Baker is convicted, the indictment specifies that she could face a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 10 years and up to life imprisonment. Additionally, she could be fined $250,000 and be subjected to five years to potentially a lifetime of supervised release.
The arraignment was overseen by U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy Cavan, who ordered Baker to be detained pending further legal proceedings.
According to the indictment, Baker allegedly engaged in recruiting, enticing, and transporting an underage person, referred to as Jane Doe 1, for the purpose of participating in commercial sex acts. These actions allegedly took place in or before August 2022 in Billings, Montana.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Zeno Baucus, with the investigation having been conducted by the FBI.
This legal action is part of "Project Safe Childhood," a nationwide initiative started in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to address child sexual exploitation and abuse. The initiative aims to improve the identification and apprehension of offenders and to rescue victims. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at Justice.gov/PSC.
It is important to note that the charge is an accusation, and Baker is considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The case can be referenced under PACER case number 25-43.
For further details on this and similar cases, the U.S. District Court Calendar and the PACER system provide options for public monitoring. Instructions for setting up a PACER account for electronic access to court documents are available at http://www.pacer.gov/register.html, and the district court's calendar can be accessed via https://ecf.mtd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PublicCalendar.pl.
