Judge finds Billings man guilty of sex crimes against children 30 years ago

(US Attorney General’s Office press release)

GREAT FALLS — A federal district judge today found a Billings man, formerly of Hays, guilty of several crimes, including sexual abuse and molestation of children, attempted sex trafficking, child pornography and other crimes dating back about 30 years on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation and in Billings, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

After a three-day trial that began on September 9, Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris found defendant James Kirby King, 58, guilty on 17 counts. The indictment includes 25 counts accusing him of various sexual assaults and child abuse against six different victims. The court found King not guilty on eight counts.

“The years of sexual abuse and trauma King inflicted on his victims, most of whom were still children when he began his assaults, are unimaginable. King ruthlessly sought out defenseless children to exploit and satisfy his own desires, causing them a lifetime of pain. May these sentences serve as a standard of justice for them. Protecting children from sexual predators like King is our office's highest priority, and I am deeply grateful to our prosecution team, the FBI, Fort Belknap Law Enforcement, and the Great Falls Police Department for their extraordinary work in this horrific case,” said U.S. Attorney Laslovich.

The government alleged in court documents and during the trial that King was a notorious sex offender who for decades preyed on the most vulnerable and marginalized Native Americans in Montana by sexually harassing, sexually abusing, drugging, trafficking, and exploiting defenseless individuals without regard to gender, age, or biological relationship. During the trial, the government presented evidence that led to convictions of victims Jane Doe 1, Jane Doe 2, Jane Doe 3, Jane Doe 4, Jane Doe 10, and several additional victims. Some of the victims were under the age of 12 at the time of the crimes, some were under the age of 16, and some were adults. Most of the crimes occurred on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, where King lived, and in Billings, where King last lived. The crimes he is accused of began around 1992 and lasted until his arrest in 2023.

According to court documents, King repeatedly sexually harassed, drugged, assaulted, and exploited Jane Doe 1 for over a decade. The first memory of the harassment dates to 1996, when she was five years old. In approximately 1994 or 1995, when Jane Doe 2 was 14 years old, King gave her a small amount of alcohol in his apartment and she “blacked out.” Jane Doe 2 later woke up and noticed King kneeling between her legs and taking pictures of her bare vaginal area. In addition, King attempted to sexually exploit Jane Doe 3 on numerous occasions, forcing her to perform numerous sex acts both as a child and later as an adult on the Fort Belknap Reservation and in Billings. King drugged and raped Jane Doe 4 on the Fort Belknap Reservation when she was in her 20s and he was in his 40s. And King attempted to coerce Jane Doe 10 into sex trafficking in October 2023.

The court found King guilty:

• Aggravated sexual abuse of a child, one count
• Incest, two counts
• Sexual exploitation of children, three counts
• Aggravated sexual abuse by rendering unconscious or administering drugs to the victim, two counts
• Sexual abuse, two counts
• Attempted aggravated sexual abuse by rendering the victim unconscious or administering drugs to the victim, one count
• Attempted sexual abuse, one charge
• Sexual abuse of minors, one count
• Severe sexual abuse through violence, one count
• Attempted possession with intent to sell child pornography in Indian Country, one count
• Possession of child pornography in Indian Country, one count
• Attempted sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, one count

King faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, a $250,000 fine, and five years to life probation, as well as a minimum sentence of 15 years to life in prison for the crimes of sexual exploitation of children and attempted sex trafficking by coercion.
The court will determine the sentence in accordance with the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing is scheduled for January 15, 2025. King remained in custody pending the outcome of the trial.

The U.S. Attorney's Office is prosecuting the case. The FBI, Fort Belknap law enforcement and Great Falls police are conducting the investigation.