MISSOULA – A Chester man who tried to cross the border into Montana with Child Sex Abuse Material on his phone was sentenced today to six years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, Acting U.S. Attorney Mark Steger Smith said.
Brandon Wayne Roos, 34, pleaded guilty in March 2026 to receiving child pornography.
U.S. District Judge William W. Mercer presided.
The government alleged in court documents that Roos was crossing from Canada into Montana at the Sweetgrass Port of Entry on Sept. 24, 2023, when Border Patrol agents discovered illicit sexual material involving children on Roos’s phone.
Border Patrol had received a tip that Roos possibly had illicit material and so when he arrived at the Port of Entry agents searched his phone, where they found 151 images and 49 videos of Child Sex Abuse Material. Roos admitted to law enforcement that he had purchased and downloaded the material, which led to a search warrant for Roos’s home and computer. The search turned up 50 additional images and eight videos.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Lowney prosecuted the case. Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOs, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC .
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Montana — U.S. Department of Justice press release.