A man from Hardin has been sentenced to 36 months in prison on charges of promoting prostitution with a minor. The sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release. This announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme.
The individual, William Serges Joseph, aged 75, entered a guilty plea in November 2024 to the charge of using a facility in interstate commerce in aid of racketeering. The presiding judge for the case was U.S. District Judge Susan Watters.
According to court documents, a juvenile female known as Jane Doe revealed to law enforcement in March 2023 that starting around September 2022, she engaged in interactions with Joseph through Facebook where she exposed her breasts to him. Joseph was aware of her being a minor. Jane Doe disclosed that Joseph also asked her for naked pictures and allowed him to touch her in exchange for alcohol.
Further interviews with Jane Doe in June 2023 indicated that Joseph continued to communicate with her, offering $50 for sexual contact. Her cell phone contained a message from February 2023 sent by Joseph, which included a picture of male genitalia. In February 2024, Joseph admitted to providing alcohol to Jane Doe in return for pictures of her breasts. At the time, both prostitution and sex trafficking were illegal under Montana state laws and federal laws of the United States.
The U.S. Attorney's Office prosecuted this case with an investigation conducted by the FBI. This was part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to address child sexual exploitation and abuse. The project involves collaboration between federal, state, and local resources to apprehend individuals exploiting children, especially online, and to identify and save victims. Further information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at Justice.gov/PSC.