MISSOULA — Terry Joseph Jette of Anaconda admitted in court on Tuesday that he attempted to meet an undercover FBI agent posing as a minor girl for sexual activity, according to U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson.
Jette, 56, pleaded guilty to attempted coercion and enticement. He faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years to life in prison, a $250,000 fine, and at least five years to a lifetime of supervised release.
Court documents say on June 21, Jette initiated a conversation on Instagram with what he believed to be a 13-year-old girl who was actually an undercover FBI agent. He kept up online communication with the agent until he was arrested on July 9.
Over the course of the communication, court documents allege, Jette sent images of his penis and requested nude images from the agent posing as a child. He suggested during a sexually explicit conversation that they meet and that he would bring methamphetamine and condoms.
Jette traveled from Anaconda to Missoula on July 8 and made a first attempt to meet the girl, asking her to sneak out of her house. When she was unable to meet, he suggested a meeting the next day in East Missoula, again making explicit statements about engaging in sexual intercourse and saying he had meth.
Jette was arrested at the meeting location on July 9. Law enforcement searched his vehicle and found a condom, meth, Viagra, and candy that the girl had told Jette she liked during their online communications.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyndee L. Peterson is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided. Sentencing was set for March 30, 2022 before U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen.
