NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, September 28, 2006

CONTACT: Kurt Alme
Assistant U.S. Attorney for the
District of Montana
(406) 247-4669

SHAWN MICHAEL NASH SENTENCED IN U.S. DISTRICT COURT

Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Billings, on September 27, 2006, before Senior U.S. District Judge Jack D. Shanstrom, SHAWN MICHAEL NASH, a 33-year-old resident of Billings, appeared for sentencing. NASH was sentenced to a term of:

* ? Prison: 60 months

* ? Special Assessment: $ 100

* ? Supervised Release: 5 years

NASH was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to coercion and enticement of a minor.

In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

In September of 2005, an FBI agent was working undercover in an Internet chat room posing as a girl under the age of 16 when the agent was contacted by NASH. NASH proceeded to engage the "girl" in almost immediate discussions of her young age, his age of 32, and sexual matters.

NASH and the "girl" engaged in a number of conversations over the next several weeks. NASH then arranged to meet the "girl" in Billings to have sex with her. NASH repeatedly noted that he would go to jail due to the "girl's" young age and his concern that he would be caught and arrested when they had sex.

On October 18, 2005, NASH traveled from his home at 11:30 p.m. to meet with the "girl" for sex. When NASH arrived at the meet site, he was arrested.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that NASH will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, NASH does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcia K. Hurd prosecuted the case for the United States.

The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.