Eric Cottrill of Montana City will spend two years in federal prison for possessing child pornography.

Cottrill, 36, was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Missoula. He will be allowed to report to prison after Jan. 15, 2009, according to the court order by Judge Donald Molloy, and will be supervised for 10 years after serving his prison term.

A charge of receipt of child pornography, which includes a mandatory minimum of five years in prison, was dropped by the U.S. Attorney's Office as part of a plea agreement. Cottrill had faced up to 10 years in prison for possessing the pornography.

According to court documents, Jefferson County law enforcement officers received a telephone call on May 3, 2007, saying that child pornography was on a computer in Cottrill's Montana City home, which he shared with his wife and three young children, and there were concerns about the welfare of the children.

An officer did a cursory inspection of the computer and couldn't find anything, but Cottrill gave permission for the computer to be seized, saying "there isn't anything on it."

However, a more thorough investigation by federal agents turned up several images in which underage children were shown in various sexually explicit poses. Cottrill later admitted that he had originally accessed adult pornography Internet sites, but became curious and started looking at child pornography Internet sites in 2006 and 2007, even though he knew that was illegal.

After his indictment on Feb. 25, Cottrill's probation officer insisted he not live with his wife and children, so Cottrill moved in with his parents in Helena. He later was allowed to move back into the family home.

Documents outlining some of the reasoning behind Cottrill's sentencing were sealed by the judge. However, Cottrill's attorney, Mayo Ashley, noted that Cottrill already has been punished by the community.

"... Cottrill has for the past two years been heavily punished by the loss of one of his jobs, his wife's loss of her job and the resultant economic straits of being unemployed with three children; having to abide by strict probation requirements while on release which involved, at least for a time, being forced to live outside the family home; approbation from the community, including an inability to attend his children's various in-school and out-of-school functions; and the pain for his children whose many friends are not allowed by their parents to associate with his children," Ashley wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

The guideline range for sentencing in this case was 37 to 46 months.

Cottrill also was ordered to complete a sex offender and/or mental health treatment program, as directed by the U.S. Probation Office. He also is prohibited to be in the company of any child younger than 18, or to go near school yards, playgrounds or other places frequented by young children, without the probation office's approval.

Reporter Eve Byron: 447-4076 or eve.byron@helenair.com