Billings Jury Finds Missoula Man Guilty of Sex Trafficking
On Wednesday morning, a federal jury in Billings found 35 year-old Terrence Tyrell Edwards of Missoula guilty on 10 counts of sex trafficking.
As part of his criminal history, in 2016, Edwards was arrested in Billings for allegedly kidnapping and assaulting a 22 year-old Lake County woman.
At the time, Lake County Sheriff Don Bell said Edwards was arrested as part of a sting operation by Billings police.
“Coordinating with the Billings Police Department, they were able to rescue her at about 3:00 p.m. They set up a sting operation and waited for him to come back to the location where he believed the female was still unable to escape,” he said. “They laid in wait for him to return, and took him into custody.”
Bell said federal authorities then became involved, because the victim was transported across state lines.
At his 2018 federal court trial in Billings, Edwards denied he was providing women and girls for sex, but that he was running an escort service.
Edwards faces a sentence of from 15 years to life, along with a fine of up to $250,000.