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Bozeman man who pleaded guilty to accessing child pornography online gets 15-year prison sentence

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Posted at 2:41 PM, Feb 22, 2023
and last updated 2023-02-22 17:01:32-05

BOZEMAN — A Bozeman man who admitted to using a social media account to access child pornography was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, according to U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich.

Jacob Michael Rieger, 23, was sentenced after pleading guilty in October 2022 to transportation of child pornography.

Court documents allege that in February 2022 the Bozeman Police Department investigated Rieger, who was suspected of using an online account to transport child pornography files. Rieger was on probation at the time for a prior child pornography crime.

Police in Bozeman reported their investigation to Rieger’s state probation officer, who then searched Rieger’s residence with an officer from the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

According to court documents, Rieger admitted to using an online account to access child pornography during the search. Online records reportedly showed he was accessing and saving child pornography pictures and videos from approximately October 2021 through March 2022.

Rieger is required to serve 15 years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term.

U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided over sentencing in the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cyndee L. Peterson and Brian C. Lowney.

The case was investigated by the Bozeman Police Department and Montana Division of Criminal Investigation.