BILLINGS – A former athletic trainer for the Miles City Unified School District accused in a sophisticated system of sexual abuse of students has been moved, pending a federal indictment.
Custer County Prosecutor Wyatt Glade said 78-year-old James Eric Jensen was moved from Custer County to the Yellowstone County Detention Center on Thursday.
Glade said U.S. Marshals took Jensen into custody after the Dec. 21 charges were handed down from U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme’s office.
Alme said Friday that James “Doc” Jensen allegedly used means of interstate commerce, including the Internet, to “entice and coerce an individual who he believed was a minor to engage in sexual activity.”
If convicted, Jensen, 78, would face a maximum of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years’ supervised release.
Still, Jensen still has court dates scheduled in Custer County, Glade said they will try and handle those court proceedings concurrent with the federal charges.
Glade said it is likely those court hearing will happen with Jensen appearing on video.
According to the jail roster on the Yellowstone County Detention Center’s website, Jensen is listed as a federal hold with no bond.
The federal charges were filed the same day Jensen made his first appearance in court in Miles City on charges of possession of child porn.
Authorities said they discovered the alleged child pornography when they were investigating accusations from 31 former Miles City student athletes who said Jensen had touched them inappropriately from the 1970s to the 1990s as a trainer.
— Story by Andrea Lutz – MTN News
