Yellowstone Human Trafficking Task Force

Former physician sentenced for s*xual assault in Missoula
By: MTN News
Posted 7:12 PM, Jun 09, 2026
and last updated 10:58 PM, Jun 09, 2026

Tyler James Hurst, a former physician in Missoula who pleaded guilty last year to several s*xual assault charges last year, was sentenced on Tuesday.

Missoula District Judge Shane Vannatta sentenced Hurst to 40 years in prison for two charges of felony in*******se without consent and three charges of s*xual assault.

Hurst was accused of s*xually assaulting more than a dozen women while they were patients at the Community Medical Center, where he was an emergency physician.

Emotions ran high during testimony on Tuesday as victims addressed Hurst, telling him how his actions impacted their lives.

In December 2025, Hurst pleaded guilty to several s*xual assault charges. He was accused of s*xually 15 women while they were patients at the center.

Former physician sentenced for s*xual assault in Missoula Tyler James Hurst, a former physician in Missoula who pleaded guilty last year to several s*xual assault charges last year, was sentenced on Tuesday, June 9, 2026.

Pryor man pleads guilty to receiving child p**n
Tuesday, June 9, 2026
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Montana

BILLINGS – A Pryor man who had a video on his phone with s*xually explicit material of a minor admitted to charges today, Acting U.S. Attorney Mark Steger Smith said.

The defendant, Melvin Lee Stops, Jr., 23, pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child p**nography. Stops faces five to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, at least a $35,000 special assessment, a separate $5,000 special assessment, five years to lifetime of supervised release, and an additional $100 special assessment.

U.S. District Judge Watters will determine a sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing will be set by the court. Stops was detained pending further proceedings.

The government alleged in court documents that s*xually explicit material of a minor was discovered on Stops’s cell phone in 2022.

Stops was at a house party in June 2022 where he left his phone after leaving the party. One of the partygoers found his phone and on it discovered “videos of underage girls.” She called law enforcement to report what she found. In December 2025, law enforcement served a search warrant on the phone and found the video.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case. The FBI conducted the investigation.

Pryor man pleads guilty to receiving child p**n A Pryor man who had a video on his phone with s*xually explicit material of a minor admitted to charges today.

Wyola man pleads guilty to s*x offense
Wednesday, May 13, 2026

U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Montana
BILLINGS - A Wyola man who sent inappropriate text messages, photos, and videos to a minor admitted to charges today, Acting U.S. Attorney Tim Racicot said.

The defendant, Truman Frank Jefferson, Jr., 50, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted coercion and enticement. Jefferson faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years to life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 5 years to a lifetime of supervised release.

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided and will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for September 29, 2026. Jefferson remained detained pending further proceedings.

The government alleged in court documents that in June 2024 law enforcement responded to a home in Lodge Grass for a trespass complaint regarding Jefferson. There, 16-year-old Jane Doe disclosed Jefferson had been s*xually harassing her for years. Jane Doe reported she began receiving inappropriate text messages, photos, and videos from him years earlier.

Doe described multiple instances when Jefferson messaged her to come see him and then requested she touch his exposed p***s. Jane Doe said one of those incidents occurred when she was 14 or 15 years old in Bozeman when Jefferson sent her a text message instructing her to come outside to his vehicle because he had a present for her. Once she was close to him, Jane Doe observed his exposed p***s and he told her to “touch it.”

Investigators recovered messages from Jefferson to Jane Doe. One of the recovered conversations was from Jefferson’s cell phone and contained his request to perform oral s*x on Jane Doe. Jefferson, in his 40s when he was messaging Jane Doe, knew she was under 18 years old.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelsey Hendricks is prosecuting the case. The FBI and BIA conducted the investigation.
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Please save the date for YHTTF’s 2026 2nd Quarter General Session on Tuesday, June 30th from 10:30 a.m. to Noon in the Community Room at the Billings Public Library.

We are honored to welcome Jenna McKaye as our special guest speaker. Jenna is an award-winning author, survivor leader, and nationally recognized advocate whose work has helped shape anti-trafficking training, survivor advocacy, and legislation across the country. Through her extraordinary story of survival, resilience, and leadership, Jenna delivers a powerful message of hope, healing, and action that has impacted audiences from frontline professionals to the United Nations.

Following the General Session, Jenna will be reading from her award-winning memoir, Grit and Grace: An Unforgettable Memoir of the Human Spirit, and signing copies at a special event hosted by The Worthy Ranch at Quill - House of Ink. All are welcome.

The agenda for this jam-packed General Session will be shared closer to the event date. We hope you will join us for what promises to be an impactful and inspiring gathering.

Nearly 9 years ago, Maria Martin with the Montana Department of Corrections reached out to me about the connection between trafficking, exploitation, trauma, addiction, and incarceration. Maria has since retired but her work continued at MT DOC and through the partnership with the Yellowstone Human trafficking Task Force (YHTTF).

Today, that work is taking steps to better identify trafficking victims within the correctional system.

In June, I will be presenting at the Montana State Women’s Prison and Riverside on identifying human trafficking and the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act. These conversations matter because many incarcerated individuals were victims long before they were ever offenders.

You cannot help victims you fail to identify.

The question is not whether trafficking victims exist within our correctional system. The question is how many we failed to identify before they arrived there.

Thank you to the MT DOC, staff, survivors, and advocates working to build systems that recognize exploitation, trauma, and pathways to recovery instead of only punishment.

I love you all.

Penny Ronning
Co-Founder and President
YHTTF

Billings prison survey aims to identify trafficking victims BILLINGS, Mont. — Montana’s only women’s prison is holding 246 inmates out of a capacity of 250, and now a new survey effort is trying to identify women who have

The term “john” exists for one reason: to make rapists sound less violent. The buyer’s money does not erase the violence.

It funds it.

From the post: The Montana Department of Justice recently partnered with Safe House Project to relaunch Montana's existing human trafficking hotline through a new platform called Simply Report.

The new platform will make it easier for the public to report suspected human trafficking and helps improve law enforcement response times. Reports submitted through the hotline are sent directly to the Montana Department of Justice's Human Trafficking Unit.

If you believe you have witnessed human trafficking, call or text 1-833-406-STOP (7867), visit simplyreport.com, or download the Simply Report mobile application available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

The Montana Department of Justice recently partnered with Safe House Project to relaunch Montana's existing human trafficking hotline through a new platform called Simply Report.

The new platform will make it easier for the public to report suspected human trafficking and helps improve law enforcement response times. Reports submitted through the hotline are sent directly to the Montana Department of Justice's Human Trafficking Unit.

If you believe you have witnessed human trafficking, call or text 1-833-406-STOP, visit simplyreport.com, or download the Simply Report mobile application available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

One year ago today, Penny Ronning, YHTTF Co-Founder and President, was at the White House for the signing of the TAKE IT DOWN Act into federal law. Today, the law is fully in effect nationwide.

This law matters because victims of exploitation, abuse, trafficking, s*xtortion, and AI generated s*xual deepfakes have too often been left to fight alone while intimate images spread online for days, months, or even years.

The TAKE IT DOWN Act makes it a federal crime to knowingly publish or threaten to publish nonconsensual intimate images, including AI generated or digitally altered s*xual images. It also requires online platforms to remove reported content within 48 hours.

If you or someone you know becomes a victim, here are critical steps to take immediately:

• DO NOT delete messages, screenshots, usernames, profiles, links, payment demands, or threats
• Take screenshots of everything, including dates, usernames, URLs, and conversations
• Report the content directly on the platform and specifically reference the TAKE IT DOWN Act and nonconsensual intimate imagery
• File reports with law enforcement and ask for a case number
• Report to the FBI at ic3.gov if there are threats, extortion, trafficking, organized exploitation, or interstate activity
• If a minor is involved, report immediately to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at CyberTipline.org or 1-800-THE-LOST and, if in Montana, submit a tip to the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force by calling (406) 438-2354 or emailing [email protected]
• Preserve evidence even if the content is later removed

Victims need to know this clearly: being victimized online is not your shame to carry. The shame belongs to those exploiting, distributing, profiting from, or weaponizing another human being’s image and trauma.

This law exists because survivors spoke up and advocates refused to stay silent. The fight against exploitation is far from over but today marks an important step toward protecting victims in the digital age.