Man sentenced for child porn

A Kalispell man guilty of downloading child pornography movies was sentenced in federal court in Missoula on Friday.

U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy sentenced Brian Paul Cossey, 39, to 60 months in prison and 10 years of supervised release in connection with his guilty plea to receipt of child pornography.

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, federal authorities found 19 files containing video clips of child pornography on two computers belonging to Cossey. Some videos were of a violent sexual nature and depicted very young children.

Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were investigating allegations of child pornography access by users utilizing a peer-to-peer file sharing network.

Agents in Kalispell received a referral of an Internet address that was tracked to Cossey, who had files previously identified as containing child pornography available for download between February and April 2008.

Agents searched Cossey’s Kalispell residence where they seized two computers.

During the search, Cossey was interviewed and stated he had been downloading child pornography movies via the Internet “for awhile.” Cossey said he downloaded the child pornography movies for personal sexual gratification.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, “truth in sentencing” guidelines mandate that Cossey likely will serve all of the time imposed by the court.

Cossey does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for “good behavior.” However, this reduction will not exceed 15 percent of the overall sentence.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.