The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on December 20, 2010, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Strong, the following individual was arraigned:

LESTER MATTHEWS SHARPTON, a 58-year-old resident of Choteau, appeared on a charge of viewing child pornography. He is currently detained. If convicted of this charge, SHARPTON faces possible penalties of a mandatory minimum of ten years up to twenty years in prison, a $250,000 fine and lifetime supervised release. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyndee L. Peterson is the prosecutor for the United States. The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations.

The defendant pled not guilty to the charge.

The charge, an indictment, information or complaint, is merely an accusation and any person named as a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. A pre-trial conference and a trial date will be set and the United States will be required to prove the allegations set forth in the indictment beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

 

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