BOZEMAN — A Belgrade man is facing charges after child pornography was allegedly found on his computer in the control tower at Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN).
Leslie Andrew, 61, is reportedly employed by a company contracted by the FAA that provides services to the airport.
He appeared in Gallatin County Justice Court on Wednesday where he was arraigned on charges of sexual abuse of children and tampering with evidence.
According to charging documents, an airport employee in the control tower contacted an airport police lieutenant around 11:30 p.m. on Monday to report finding child pornography on a work computer.
The lieutenant preserved the images found on the computer and contacted BZN’s Information Technology director.
An airport IT employee reportedly seized the computer and two thumb drives the following Tuesday morning. Andrew contacted the employee asking for one of the thumb drives and was told to contact airport police, according to charging documents.
Charging documents say Andrew spoke with the airport police chief who told him there was an investigation into child pornography on a control tower computer. Andrew allegedly admitted the pornography was his and returned to work.
Detectives with the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office responded to the airport to assist with the investigation and were reportedly shown sexually explicit images of underage girls.
Charging documents say the detectives contacted Andrew and read him his Miranda warning. Andrew allegedly admitted he viewed child pornography on the control tower computer on Monday morning.
Andrew allegedly told detectives he had the pornographic material on a thumb drive that he broke into numerous pieces and threw away in different control tower trashcans. Airport police reportedly located pieces of the thumb drive in the trash cans.
Charging documents say Andrew also admitted to watching child pornography involving minors as young as seven years old and that he had viewed it on his cell phone that morning. He was taken into custody and transported to the Gallatin County Detention Center.
In court on Wednesday, Andrew’s bail was set at $50,000. His next court date is set for June 28, 2024.
