MISSOULA — A Missoula man admitted on Wednesday, December 20, 2023, to trading videos and images of child pornography with others on social media sites, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
Nicholas Geoffrey Combs, 28, pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography.
Combs faces a mandatory minimum of five years to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and not less than five years to life of supervised release.
The government alleged in court documents that in June 2022, Snapchat reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that a Snapchat user had uploaded two videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit content to its service.
A law enforcement investigation determined that the Snapchat account belonged to Combs and that he had sent two videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit content to another Snapchat user.
Combs admitted to an investigator to trading videos and images of minors engaged in sexually explicit content with other users on social media sites, including Reddit and Snapchat.
Combs also admitted he was sexually attracted to minors, that he had solicited and received sexually explicit pictures from children with whom he interacted online and that he sometimes pretended to be a child to solicit the images, a news release states.
Law enforcement seized Combs’ electronic devices and determined that they contained thousands of images and videos of child pornography.
U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided over the case. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Sentencing was set for April 17, 2024, and Combs was detained pending further proceedings.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian C. Lowney is prosecuting the case. The Missoula Police Department conducted the investigation.
