Kalispell man charged with federal sex crimes

A Kalispell man is behind bars facing federal child sex crime charges.

Edward Timothy Cockerham, 42, appeared in federal court in Missoula on July 8 in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen DeSoto on charges of sexual exploitation of a child.

According to charging documents filed by Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Troy Casper, two Flathead County residents brought their 9-year-old daughter to the county sheriff's office and reported she had been molested by a friend of the victim's aunt.

The victim told her parents Cockerham, also referred to as "Redneck," took her boating on an inflatable kayak on Ashley Lake. The victim said Cockerham touched her inappropriately and took photos of her with his cellphone after allegedly pulling her bathing suit aside.

County officers seized Cockerham's phone, got a warrant to search it and reported evidence may have been deleted from the phone. After getting another search warrant, the phone was taken to the state Division of Criminal Investigation for further analysis.

According to charging documents, the search found sexually explicit images of three victims, one 9 years old and two others, both 5 years old.

Special Agent Casper and sheriff's Detective Richard Schuster interviewed Casper after he was arrested, and Cockerham allegedly admitted he took all the photos of the three victims and that he touched the 9-year-old girl inappropriately.

If convicted of the most serious charge, Cockerham faces a minimum of 15 years to 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and supervised release for five years to life.

Cockerham was initially jailed in Flathead County before his transfer to the Missoula County Detention Center on July 8.

Reporter Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 406-758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.