BILLINGS — A former Montana high school athletic trainer accused of sexually abusing students under the guise of boosting their athletic performance has pleaded not guilty to another federal charge.
The Billings Gazette reports 78-year-old James E. Jensen of Miles City entered his plea Friday to a charge alleging that from 1995-99 Jensen used the internet to entice and coerce someone he believed was a minor to engage in sexual activity.
Thirty-one former athletes have sued Jensen and the Custer County school district alleging Jensen groomed athletes for abuse during the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s while he served as an athletic trainer.
The state statute of limitations prevents those alleged crimes from being prosecuted. However, an investigation led to evidence supporting 10 federal child pornography charges. Jensen pleaded not guilty on Dec. 21.