Federal Sentence Handed Down in Billings Child Abuse Case

A Billings man who sexually abused a young girl will spend the next five years in federal prison, a judge ruled Wednesday. Acting U.S. Attorney Tim Racicot announced the sentence on April 8, 2026, more than six years after the first assault took place and four months after a jury found the defendant guilty.

Judge Orders Prison Term and a Decade of Supervision

Matthew Paul Stopsatprettyplaces, 49, was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison and 10 years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters. A federal jury convicted him in December 2025 of abusive sexual contact of a child. The conviction stemmed from two separate incidents involving the same girl.

The First Assault Happened While the Girl Slept in the Back Seat of His Car

According to court documents and testimony presented at trial, the abuse began in 2019 when Stopsatprettyplaces offered a nine-year-old girl, referred to in court as Jane Doe, a ride to a relative’s home in Hardin. The girl fell asleep. He put his hands on her thighs, waking her. She was awake when he moved his hand to her inner thighs and reached beneath her clothing.

He Returned to Assault Her Again, This Time at Her Own Residence

A year later, when Jane Doe was 10, Stopsatprettyplaces came to her home in Hardin, kissed her repeatedly, and groped her over her clothing. Prosecutors used both incidents to build the federal case against him.

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Years of Silence Ended When a Therapist Made a Required Report to Authorities

Jane Doe did not come forward immediately. It was not until several years after the assaults that she told a therapist what had happened. That therapist was legally required to report the disclosure, and a call to the child abuse hotline followed. The FBI opened an investigation shortly after.

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FBI Investigation Led to a Federal Prosecution and Eventual Conviction

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelsey Hendricks and Paul Vestal prosecuted the case. The FBI handled the investigation. Stopsatprettyplaces is scheduled to report to federal prison to begin serving his sentence.