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Charges filed against Billings men accused of trying to rape children

Billings Gazette - 10/1/2022

Oct. 1—Two Billings men previously accused of trying to rape a child in Yellowstone County District Court are now facing federal charges.

Kyle Ray Schwindt, 21, and Jeffrey Mayes Wilkerson, 39, were indicted in U.S. District Court with counts of attempted coercion and enticement and possession of child pornography. The two pleaded not guilty to the charges during the initial appearance in federal court Sept. 27.

Both men were arrested earlier this year and charged by county prosecutors with child sex abuse. The county felony charges were dismissed following the indictment. Federal prosecutors allege Schwindt and Wilkerson tried to arrange to rape a child in Billings, according to charging documents. The two are also accused of possessing child sex abuse material involving a minor under the age of 12.

If convicted, Schwindt and Wilkerson could face a mandatory minimum of 10 years to life in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years to life of supervised release. The FBI and Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office collaborated in the investigation that led to their arrest.

Earlier this week, two men were sentenced to prison time for trying to arrange to rape children. Jason Robert Kroepelin was sentenced in federal court to eight years in prison, plus a lifetime of supervised release, for the attempted coercion of a minor into sex. Garrett Alan Lee will spend at least the next 25 years in prison after he admitted to trying to arrange for sex with a child through the internet. Lee was sentenced in Yellowstone County District Court.

Both men were investigated and prosecuted by a multi-agency task force focused on online sexual predators in the Billings area, the efforts of which have led to the arrest of well over a dozen people in the past year.

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(c)2022 the Billings Gazette (Billings, Mont.)

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