Jaden Douglas Batson pleaded guilty on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, to one count of receipt of child pornography.
Federal prosecutors say that in June of 2023, law enforcement received a tip from an electronic service provider indicating an account registered to Batson had paid $20 for child pornography.
A search warrant on Batson's PayPal account showed a $20 payment with a note referencing the purchase of child pornography.
Investigators continued to receive tips connecting Batson to trading and uploading child pornography.
In April of last year, agents searched Batson's home and seized electronic devices. During that search, Batson agreed to be interviewed and admitted he had traded child pornography on social media sites.
His cell phone later revealed nearly 688 videos and 362 images of child pornography.
MTN News reported on this story in April of 2025, when Bozeman Police Detective Captain Dana McNeil spoke of the investigation: “I would say that these types of crimes are the type of crimes that really shock our conscience. These are crimes against the most vulnerable people among us. We get cybertips all of the time; cybertips can be anything from general information relating to the sexual exploitation of a child to far more specific information."
From April 10, 2025:
He continued, “Providers have to report this type of information. Sometimes, an automated process will find material that will cause a report, or sometimes, someone in the general public may get an image and be concerned about a kid, and they will make a report. There are several ways it can be reported.".
McNeil says their top priority in any case like this is identifying the children in the images: “We collaborate with the Internet Crimes Against Children task force to share information and locate kids."
Batson, 24 years old, faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and up to 20 years. Sentencing is set for July 1. Batson remains released with conditions pending further proceedings.
U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This article has been lightly edited with the assistance of AI for clarity, syntax, and grammar.
