Man pleads not guilty to sexual abuse

A 27-year-old Columbia Falls man pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of sexual abuse of children Thursday in Flathead District Court.

According to court documents, John McFadden offered a 15-year-old boy $5 per photo to send him revealing pictures.

The boy told police that in April 2011, he was approached by McFadden, who asked him to send the photos to a woman named “Sara” via a sexually suggestive email address.

McFadden allegedly paid the boy after each of the six to seven photos were sent and told him to “keep it under the radar” because people would get in trouble if anyone found out.

An investigative subpoena was served to the company providing the domain name of the email address and obtained information on the person who registered the address.

It was connected to a “Sara K,” whose IP address was tracked back to a user ID registered to McFadden.

If convicted on both counts, McFadden faces between four years and two life terms in prison and a fine of up to $20,000.

His next hearing is scheduled for April 11.