Browning man admits abusive sexual contact with girl, sending nude images of self to minor girls

GREAT FALLS -A Browning man accused of having sexual contact with a girl on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and to sending nude images of himself to minor girls using social media admitted to charges yesterday, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today.

The defendant, Treston Lane Kickingwoman, 28, pleaded guilty to abusive sexual contact and to two counts of transfer of obscene material to a minor. Kickingwoman faces a maximum of life in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release on the abusive sexual contact charge and a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release on the transfer of obscene materials charge.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for Jan. 15, 2025. Kickingwoman was detained pending further proceedings.

In a plea agreement filed in the case, the parties agreed that a sentence of between 10 years and 15 years in prison is appropriate.

In court documents, the government alleged that in 2022, a victim, identified as Jane Doe 1, disclosed to law enforcement that when she was about six years old, Kickingwoman sexually abused her one time while she was staying at a house in Browning. Kickingwoman lay down on the bed by Doe 1 and began touching her legs and back. Doe 1 cried and told Kickingwoman that she was going to tell. Kickingwoman responded to the effect that if she did, he would hurt her. Doe 1 further described Kickingwoman touching her inside her underwear and vagina. He stopped when another person started moving in the room.

The government also alleged that in March 2023, an FBI undercover employee with a fictitious persona as a juvenile girl began communicating with Kickingwoman on Facebook. Kickingwoman sent the undercover explicit pictures of his penis and solicited sexually explicit pictures from the undercover. During a search of Kickingwoman's Facebook account, law enforcement discovered Kickingwoman had sent picture of his nude genitalia to dozens of separate Facebook accounts. Two of the Facebook accounts were for juvenile girls, Jane Doe 2 and Jane Doe 3, who were living on the Blackfeet Reservation. Both Doe 2 and 3 confirmed that they had messaged with Kickingwoman on Facebook Messenger in the summer of 2023 when they were 12 years old and that they told Kickingwoman they were 13. Kickingwoman sent both girls pictures of his nude genitalia and solicited sexually explicit pictures from them. Doe 2 provided the requested photographs to Kickingwoman through his Facebook account.

The U.S. Attorney's Office is prosecuting the case. The FBI and Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services conducted the investigation.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and 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 Justice.gov/PSC.

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