MISSOULA — A Missoula man was sentenced to federal prison on Tuesday after admitting to child pornography charges.
Bryan Michael Balog, 31, pleaded guilty in May, admitting to receiving and storing thousands of images and videos of child sexual abuse material from the internet.
U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said in a news release has been sentenced to five years in prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release. The court also ordered $39,000 restitution to 13 victims.
Prosecutors alleged in court documents that Dropbox reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in September 2022 that a Dropbox user had uploaded images of child sexual abuse materials to its server.
The Missoula Police Department investigated and determined that the Dropbox account belonged to Balog. Images in Balog’s account included children as young as babies engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
A Missoula Police detective executed a search warrant at Balog’s home and spoke with Balog, who admitted he had been “saving” images and videos of child pornography from the internet since 2011.
Electronic devices seized from Balog’s home contained thousands of images and videos of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided over the sentencing.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case which was investigated by the Missoula Police Department, the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation and the FBI.
