Butte man pleads guilty to possession of child porn

By The Standard Staff - 09/12/2007

A Butte man pleaded guilty Monday in Missoula federal court to a charge of receipt and possession of child pornography.

Alexander Tallon, 24, was arrested after an under-cover operation started by the Wyoming Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force that targeted peer-to-peer file sharing networks offering child pornography, according to a news release.

In July 2006, agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement executed a search warrant at Tallon’s residence in Butte and seized numerous items of computer hardware, software and storage devices. A forensic search of the items turned up pornographic pictures and movies featuring children, according to court records.

Also found during the forensic analysis were numerous sexually explicit chats that Tallon had via the Internet with underage females, court records show.

Tallon entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy.

Tallon will be sentenced at a later date. He remains free on special conditions.

Tallon faces possible penalties of a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and could be sentenced to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and lifetime supervision.