Big Sky Times

A Montana man has pleaded guilty to one count of sexual abuse of children after authorities discovered child sexual abuse material on his cell phone. The plea was entered in Hill County District Court, as announced by Attorney General Austin Knudsen.

Edmund Davis, 37, admitted to possessing child sex abuse material on his electronic devices. A review determined that the individuals depicted were under the age of 13, including two images of children under the age of 5 and other content showing infants and toddlers being sexualized.

The discovery occurred in July 2023 when the Havre Police Department served a search warrant at Davis’s apartment. They were investigating the case of a woman who had gone missing from Glendale, Arizona as a 14-year-old in 2019 and was found living there. Officers observed Davis attempting to hide a cellphone by throwing it into a trash can and covering it with items.

The phone and other electronic devices were transferred to the Division of Criminal Investigation Computer Forensics Unit in Helena. DCI agents obtained a separate search warrant for these electronics and identified known child sexual abuse material photo series among other evidentiary images.

Davis's sentencing hearing is scheduled for December 16, 2024. The state will request that he be sentenced to Montana State Prison for 100 years with 50 years suspended and a 25-year parole restriction.