Montana psychiatrist James Peak sentenced to federal prison on porn charge

December 7, 2011

A Billings child psychiatrist will spend about a year in federal prison for possessing child pornography, a sentence far less than the five years he faced.

Senior U.S. District Judge Jack Shanstrom on Wednesday noted the extraordinary nature of the case as he sentenced James H. Peak, 49, to one year and one day in prison. The sentence will allow Peak to serve about 85 percent of his sentence with time off for good behavior.

The judge also ordered a lifetime of supervised release. Peak faced a guideline range of 51 months to 63 months.

Shanstrom imposed the shorter sentencing saying Peak reported himself to law enforcement, has extraordinary support from professionals, employers, clients and patients and had not committed any hands-on offenses. The nature of the child porn in Peak's collection was not the extreme and graphic images usually found in such cases, he said.

In a brief statement, Peak apologized to all those he had hurt and disappointed, especially to his former patients and their families. Letting them down, he said, "is heartbreaking."

Defense attorney Jay Lansing recommended a sentence of one day in jail, 10 years of supervised release and a year of home detention.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcia Hurd agreed Peak's sentence should be shorter than the guidelines but recommended 38 months saying his cooperation should be balanced with the victims who were exploited for Peak's sexual gratification.

Peak pleaded guilty in August to possessing child porn, admitting he bought and received material through the mail. Peak, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, was suspended from Billings Clinic, where he had worked since 1994. He voluntarily surrendered his medical license.

Shanstrom allowed Peak to surrender when he is assigned to a prison.

Source: Clair Johnson, “Billings psychiatrist gets 1-year prison term for child porn possession,” The Billings Gazette, December 7, 2011.