Kelly Ray Burris Sentenced in U.S. District Court
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Missoula, on September 30, 2011, before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy, KELLY RAY BURRIS, a 42-year-old resident of Kalispell, appeared for sentencing. BURRIS was sentenced to a term of:
Prison: 66 months for each count, to run concurrently
Special Assessment: $200
Forfeiture: computers and CDs
Supervised Release: 10 years
BURRIS was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to receipt and possession of 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 March 2010, BURRIS' wife (at that time) reported to the Flathead County Sheriff's Office that she had found child pornography on a computer jointly used by she and Burris. The computer was located at their residence in Columbia Falls. The computer was previewed by law enforcement with her permission and images of child pornography were located. Images were also located on a CD she provided the deputies. Two computers (an HP P6000 desktop and a Gateway laptop) and the CD were seized. The next day, additional CDs belonging to BURRIS were turned into the Sheriff's Office.
When interviewed, BURRIS stated the CDs were given to him in 2004.
A forensic examiner found images of child pornography on the Gateway laptop computer. He also found images of child pornography on six of the CDs. The examiner determined the HP P6000 desktop had been used to browse for child pornography on the Internet and view some of the images found on the CDs.
The examiner determined the graphics on the Gateway were received on the computer between December 26, 2007, and April 18, 2009. He determined the files on the computer were not created when the user viewed images from the CDs but were created when the user viewed or received files on the computer itself.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that BURRIS will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, BURRIS 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 conducted by the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, the Flathead County Sheriff's Office, and the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation.
