Flathead man admits to sexual exploitation

Flathead County resident Allen Duane Turman, 43, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to sexual exploitation of a child, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Missoula.

In October 2017, law enforcement officers received a call about a thumb-drive that belonged to Turman, according to information from U.S. Attorney Kurt G. Alme. An analysis of files on the thumb-drive found it contained a video of a girl who was under the age of 18 and that the video was created a year or two earlier in Kalispell. The video depicts the girl engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Other files on the device indicated Turman had created the video.

When interviewed in August, Turman said he was using drugs at the time and that his memory was poor. While he did not specifically recall making the video, he did not dispute that he created it.

Turman faces a maximum sentence of 15 years to 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years to life with supervised release. He is detained.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyndee Peterson is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, the Billings Police Department and the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

This case was initiated under the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood, which was launched in 2006 to combat the increase in technology-based crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children. Through a network of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and advocacy organizations, Project Safe Childhood attempts to protect children by investigating and prosecuting offenders involved in child sexual exploitation. The project is implemented through partnerships including the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.