A federal jury in Billings has found Steven Dwayne Scott, 51, guilty of attempted coercion and enticement and possession of child pornography. The verdict was announced by U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme following a one-and-a-half-day trial.
Scott faces between 10 years and life in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and supervised release ranging from five years to life for both convictions. Sentencing is scheduled for January 8, 2026. He remains detained pending further proceedings.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided over the trial and will determine the sentence after reviewing the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, law enforcement officers posed as a 12-year-old girl on Facebook in March 2024 as part of an undercover operation. Scott began communicating with the account, later moving the conversation to KIK messenger. The interactions continued from March 7 to May 28, 2024.
During these exchanges, Scott was informed of the purported age of the “child,” acknowledged he should not be communicating with her but persisted, and requested pictures, including nude images. On May 21, Scott sent images of a gift card as payment for potential nude photos and gave instructions on verifying funds on the card. On May 27, he sent a $25 Amazon gift card to obtain images from the “child.” The final communication occurred on May 28.
At that time, Scott was already a registered sex offender due to a 1997 conviction for Sexual Abuse of a Minor in the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota.
The investigation also revealed that in 2018 Scott had online correspondence with multiple juvenile females. One individual identified as Jane Doe 1 led authorities to search Scott’s Snapchat account, where they found sexually explicit images involving another minor referred to as Jane Doe 2.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Zeno Baucus prosecuted the case with investigative support from the FBI.
“This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and 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 Justice.gov/PSC,” according to information provided by prosecutors.
