Attempted sex trafficking of minor girl, violation of a release condition send Billings man to prison for more than 23 years

BILLINGS - A Billings man who admitted to a sex trafficking crime after he was accused of offering to provide a minor girl alcohol in exchange for sex and to violating a release condition in a separate case was sentenced today to a total of 23 years and 10 months in prison, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

The defendant, Joshua Allen Morgan, 40, pleaded guilty in May to attempted sex trafficking of a minor. In a separate case, Morgan also admitted to violating a condition of supervised release for a separate 2012 conviction for receipt of child pornography.

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided. The court sentenced Morgan to 21 years and 10 months in prison for the attempted sex trafficking conviction and to a consecutive two years in prison for violating a release condition in the child pornography case.

In the case involving attempted sex trafficking of a minor, the government alleged in court documents that in March 2023, law enforcement was conducting an undercover online investigation in the Billings area targeting individuals with a sexual interest in children. Morgan responded to and agreed to meet a person he believed to be a 12-year-old girl. Morgan was arrested and law enforcement served a search warrant on his phone. Law enforcement found Facebook communications between Morgan and a juvenile girl, identified as Jane Doe. In an interview with law enforcement, Doe disclosed that she had met Morgan when she was 15 or 16 after he began sending her messages on Facebook. Morgan provided Doe with alcohol, and they spent time together. During this period, Moran sexually assaulted Doe at his residence. In March 2023, Morgan and Doe began corresponding again and discussions involved Morgan providing Doe with alcohol in exchange for sexual conduct. Doe informed Morgan she was a juvenile, and Morgan instructed her not to disclose their relationship to anyone. Doe and Morgan did meet, but Doe left prior to engaging in sexual conduct with Morgan.

At the same time Morgan was attempting to traffic Jane Doe, he also was attempting to groom other minor girls. He asked two girls to travel to Laurel with him one night and purchased alcohol for them. On another occasion, Morgan informed one of those girls that he could provide her with methamphetamine. Morgan made a habit of informing these children that he did not want to know their age. The girls were 15 and 16 years old.

The U.S. Attorney's Office prosecuted the case. The FBI and Montana Division of Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney's Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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