Missoula Man Charged With Child Sex Trafficking and Prostitution
Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - On April 22, 2026, a Missoula County Sheriff’s Office Detective was connected to the Internet and is a Task Force Officer (TFO) with the Montana Human Trafficking Task Force. He was working in an Online Covert Employee (OCE) capacity and using a sanctioned law enforcement account, purporting to be a child in Missoula County under 14 years of age. The TFO was using a website or application known to law enforcement for the online exploitation and enticement of children.
The OCE account included basic user information about a purported person and an open post with text and an image. The OCE information and the post made by the TFO were visible to all users and visitors to this website/application, and the application prioritized geo-location by displaying nearby user posts for ease of access. Any user or visitor to the website/application could use the included messaging features to contact the OCE account(s) directly/privately and to contact other users.
The online undercover names have been redacted to protect ongoing investigations.
Beginning at approximately 9:48 PM, an online account established by OCE-11692 received a series of messages from the user that was later identified as 52-year-old Ernest Crawford. The messages continued over several days. While the exchange was occurring between Crawford and OCE-11692, Crawford was also communicating with OCE-13206-SAC. OCE-13206-SAC is also a member of the Montana FBI CEHTTF based in Kalispell.
Crawford also began text messaging the undercover phone number that he had been provided with during the first interaction. The phone number utilized was confirmed to belong to Crawford using law enforcement data aggregation databases.
A History of Offenses: The Repeat Offender
The TFO learned that Crawford is a registered sex offender with his current Montana Sexual and Violent Offender Registry placing him at an address in Kalispell. The TFO received records from Utah related to Crawford’s original conviction. In this conviction, Crawford had communicated with an OCE purporting to be 14 years old and was convicted.
The conversations ended when Crawford was ultimately arrested on May 1, 2026, in Missoula County. On that day, Crawford was observed by surveillance teams leaving his place of work in a vehicle. He arrived at the location, rang the doorbell, and was directed to “come in” by a female voice. Crawford was placed in handcuffs by arresting officers.
After the arrest, he was taken to be checked out at the hospital after appearing to pass out. The TFO was present when Crawford was searched and observed that Crawford purchased food, snacks, and drinks, including strawberries and Fanta that had been requested during the OCE conversation in the days prior to his travel to Missoula.
Conversations Post-Arrest: A Confession
The TFO and an FBI Special Agent entered the interview room where Crawford had been speaking with another TFO. The TFO read Crawford the Miranda Warning, and Crawford agreed to speak without an attorney present. Crawford said he had been on an application where he interacted with a 12-year-old female in Kalispell and a 12-year-old female in Missoula. He acknowledged that he understood their age and had asked them to assist him in finding someone 16 or older.
Crawford said he got a phone number from one of the 12-year-olds for a person he knew as “J” and he believed her to be 16 years old. Crawford said he had very little success looking for women on dating applications, and he had been kicked off Tinder after he paid for a yearly subscription, which he later learned was because Tinder had checked his information and found he was a registered sex offender, and his account was removed for violation of the terms of service.
Crawford said he learned early on that “J” was “selling her body,” and he felt like she became angry with him for wasting her time. Crawford acknowledged that he was given several opportunities to disengage from the conversation with “J” but ultimately, he admitted an agreement had been made for $400 to spend the weekend together.
When the TFO asked Crawford if he intended to have sex with her over the weekend, he said “probably,” but he stated he generally doesn’t like to stick to a solid plan in case things change with a person. According to court documents, Crawford stated he had $400 cash in the center console of the car that he traveled in from Kalispell to Missoula.
READ MORE: Missoula News - Crime Reports
Crawford said he used various websites and apps to try arranging to meet people. Crawford said he had been arranging to meet with a couple that he had been talking to, but he believed they reported him for being a sex offender, and he was kicked off the website. Crawford said he had met up with others a few times, but nothing had amounted to a long-term relationship.
After interviewing Crawford, the TFO and the FBI SA searched Crawford’s vehicle pursuant to a search warrant and located an envelope containing $400 in cash.
Crawford is currently being charged with felony child sex trafficking and felony prostitution with a child. His bond was set at $250,000.
The information in this article was obtained from sources that are publicly viewable.
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