Brossman to plead guilty

Libby-area resident Rodney Lee Brossman has signed an agreement with federal prosecutors that could lead to 20 years in prison and more than a quarter of a million dollars in fines and fees.

Brossman signed a plea agreement with Assistant United States Attorney Zeno Baucus April 7, 2016, agreeing to plead guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. A second count of distribution of child pornography will be dismissed once the guilty plea is entered. 

“The defendant will plead guilty because defendant is in fact guilty of the charge in Count II of the indictment,” the agreement read. “In pleading guilty, the defendant acknowledges that: 1) The defendant knowingly possessed any matter that contained an image of child pornography, as defined in Title 18 United States Code Section 2256(8); 2) That such child pornography had been transported in interstate or foreign commerce by any means, including by computer, or that such child pornography had been produced using materials that had been mailed or shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce by any means, including by computer; and 3) The defendant know that such items constituted child pornography. The defendant also acknowledges that he knowingly possessed at least one image of child pornography that involved a prepubescent minor or a minor who had not attained 12 years of age pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Sect. 2252A(b)(2).”

Brossman was indicted by a federal grand jury Jan. 21, 2016, on one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Each count carries penalties of up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines. 

According to the indictment, which had been sealed until Brossman’s initial appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Jeremiah C. Lynch Feb. 9, Brossman knowingly distributed child pornography in November 2013 and was found to have an image of a pornographic image of a child under the age of 12 in his possession between November 2013 and February 2014.

“The grand jury charges that on or about Nov. 30, 2013, in Libby, in the state and district of Montana, the defendant, Rodney Lee Brossman, knowingly distributed a visual depiction using any means of facility of interstate commerce, including by computer, and the production of such visual depiction involved the use of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct and the visual depiction of such conduct, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2252(a)(2) and (b),” the indictment read. “Count II: Between on or about Nov. 20, 2013, and on or about Feb. 27, 2014, in Libby, in the state and district of Montana, and elsewhere, the defendant, Rodney Lee Brossman, knowingly possessed an image of child pornography, depicting a prepubescent minor or a minor who had not attained 12 years of age, that had been mailed, shipped and transported in interstate and foreign commerce by any means, including by computer, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2252(a)(5)(B) and (b)(2).”

Brossman is scheduled to formally enter the guilty plea in court at 2 p.m., April 27, 2016, in the court of United States Magistrate Judge Jeremiah Lynch at the Russell Smith Courthouse in Missoula.