Brandon Kent Neer Sentenced in U.S. District Court
Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Missoula, on December 3, 2009, before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy, BRANDON KENT NEER, a 23-year-old resident of Helena, appeared for sentencing. NEER was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 5 days
- Special Assessment: $100
- Supervised Release: 20 years
NEER was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to possession of child pornography.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcia K. Hurd, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
An investigation began in April 2007, when a person using the screen name "brandonneer052002" began chatting with an undercover detective in Virginia he thought was a 13-year-old boy. "Brandonneer052002" sent the "boy" 16 images of a nude prepubescent boy and told the "boy" that he had orally sodomized an eleven-year-old boy. The detective was able to identify the person behind the screen name as NEER. Further conversations by NEER included more distributions of child pornography, and requests to allow NEER to engage in sexual activity with the undercover detective. NEER also discussed traveling to meet for sexual activity. The case was turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Helena for further investigation.
In October 2007, the computer NEER had used to communicate with the detective via the Internet was recovered during a search of NEER'S residence in Helena. When questioned, NEER admitted that he had been collecting child pornography and that there would be child pornography found on his computer. He also admitted that he knew the activities were illegal and wrong.
A forensic examination of the computer found numerous images of child pornography that NEER had received via the Internet and continued to possess.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that NEER will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, NEER 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 Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Helena Police Department, the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
