EBS STAFF
Brian Kilcoyne, a former special education para-professional at an unspecified Bozeman school, entered “not guilty” pleas in his initial appearance before Judge Rienne McElyea on Nov. 17. An investigation beginning in January 2024 found probable cause that Kilcoyne committed “two felony counts of sexual abuse of children for possession of sexual abuse material,” according to a Nov. 18 press release from the Gallatin County Attorney’s Office.
Bozeman Police Detective Kaci Hansen launched an investigation after learning of an undercover operation being conducted by a Vermont police detective, who posed online as a 14-year-old girl. That Hartford Police Department detective received “child sexual abuse materials” from a male child, and the sender was later identified as Brian Michael Kilcoyne of Bozeman.
Kilcoyne was taken into custody in January 2024, and Detective Hansen obtained a warrant to seize his smartphone, on which she discovered “approximately 4,439 images and 22 videos depicting children—some as young as two to twelve years old—engaged in sexual conduct,” according to the release, which did not specify whether those children were from Bozeman. One video involved child victims known to law enforcement from prior investigations, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the materials form the basis of the two felony charges.
“This office is committed to protecting children and ensuring accountability for those who exploit them,” County Attorney Audrey Cromwell stated in the release. “The volume and nature of the material recovered in this case underscore the seriousness of these charges. We will continue to pursue justice for the victims represented in these images and videos.”
