BILLINGS- The former Miles City trainer accused of molesting dozens of student athletes decades ago is now facing federal charges of enticing minors to engage in sexual activity over the Internet.
U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said Friday that James “Doc” Jensen allegedly used means of interstate commerce, including the Internet, to “entice and coerce an individual who he believed was a minor to engage in sexual activity.”
If convicted, Jensen, 78, would face a maximum of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years’ supervised release.
The charges were filed the same day Jensen made his first appearance in court in Miles City on charges of possession of child porn.
Authorities said they discovered the alleged child pornography when they were investigating accusations from 31 former Miles Citystudent athletes who said Jensen had touched them inappropriately from the 1970s to the 1990s as a trainer.
The former students, who have not been identified, made their allegations in a civil suit. Jensen has not been charged with any state crimes in relation to those allegations.
Prosecutors in Custer County said any alleged crimes likely fell outside Montana’s statute of limitations. However, federal law has different standards.
