MISSOULA – A Flathead County Martin City man who produced and distributed child pornography has been sentenced to 40 years in prison to be followed by a lifetime supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme announced on Wednesday.
Raymond Owen Bonner, 40, of Martin City, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to one count of production of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography.
Prosecutors alleged in court documents that in August 2024, an FBI undercover agent was operating in online applications known for trafficking in child sexual abuse material. The agent found that a user had posted messages to a chat room in one such application in June 2024 and July 2024, stating that the user had access to a six-year-old girl (Jane Doe) and was sexually abusing that child. The user, later identified as Bonner, posted images and videos of his abuse that verified his hands-on access to Doe. Bonner told other users in the chat room he was Doe’s babysitter.
According to a news release, investigators responded to Bonner’s address in Martin City on Sept. 5, 2024, but Bonner had fled his residence prior to law enforcement’s arrival. FBI agents found Jane Doe in a home near Bonner’s residence. Doe and others verified that Bonner was her babysitter and later identified Bonner as the person abusing her in the images and videos he had distributed. The FBI also seized several devices from Bonner’s home, including a cell phone.
The FBI searched the phone and found images and videos of Doe that were the same as the images and videos of Doe posted by Bonner to the chat room. Bonner was located by law enforcement and arrested on Sept. 19, 2024.
U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided over the case, which was investigated by the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office and the Northwest Montana Drug Task Force.
