Man found watching child porn on Montana bus with $20K strapped to legs will head to prison

MISSOULA, Mont. (Billings Gazette) — A 66-year-old man who was caught watching child pornography as he fled Washington state on a bus with $10,000 strapped to each of his legs pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Missoula.

Eric Franklin Rosser pleaded guilty to accessing the internet with intent to view child pornography after signing a plea agreement with prosecutors in September. It was his second such charge in federal court; Rosser has previously been sentenced for several federal child pornography charges in Indiana.

According to court documents filed by federal prosecutors, Rosser was riding on a bus from Butte to Billings in July 2017 when another man noticed child pornography on his screen. When the man approached Rosser about it, he reportedly said, “Leave me alone. I know I have a problem,” according to court documents.

The fellow passenger called Billings police to the bus station when they arrived, and Rosser admitted to looking at the images of young girls engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Police also found he had $10,000 in cash strapped to each leg, along with $50,000 in cash in his luggage and approximately $1,000 worth of marijuana, which he told police he purchased for personal use, according to court records.

Rosser additionally admitted to violating his probation conditions and fleeing federal supervision in Washington state, court documents say. He said he had emptied his bank account and fled to avoid going back to prison.

On Tuesday, Rosser told U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah Lynch he did not dispute any of the information brought forth by federal prosecutors. Lynch said he would be sentenced to a minimum of 10 years and may be on supervised release for the rest of his life following the prison term.

His sentencing has been set for Jan. 17, 2019.

This story first appeared in fellow CNN affiliate Billings Gazette. It is used here with permission.