Pryor man pleads guilty to receiving child porn

BILLINGS - A Pryor man who had a video on his phone with sexually explicit material of a minor admitted to charges today, Acting U.S. Attorney Mark Steger Smith said.

The defendant, Melvin Lee Stops, Jr., 23, pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography. Stops faces five to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, at least a $35,000 special assessment, a separate $5,000 special assessment, five years to lifetime of supervised release, and an additional $100 special assessment.

U.S. District Judge Watters will determine a sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing will be set by the court. Stops was detained pending further proceedings.

The government alleged in court documents that sexually explicit material of a minor was discovered on Stops's cell phone in 2022.

Stops was at a house party in June 2022 where he left his phone after leaving the party. One of the partygoers found his phone and on it discovered "videos of underage girls." She called law enforcement to report what she found. In December 2025, law enforcement served a search warrant on the phone and found the video.

The U.S. Attorney's Office is prosecuting the case. The FBI conducted the investigation.