Montana man linked to missing Arizona teen pleads guilty

HELENA, Mont. — A Montana man pleaded guilty Monday to charges tied to a previously missing Arizona teenager.

Edmund Davis, 37, pleaded guilty to child sexual abuse.

The Havre Police Department searched Davis’ apartment in 2019 after learning that a woman who disappeared when she was 14 in Glendale, Arizona, was living there.

After the girl answered the door, she saw Davis throwing her cellphone in the trash in the kitchen, authorities said.

The electronic devices found during the search included images of individuals under the age of 13 and two photographs of children under the age of 5 with sexual content.

Davis is scheduled for sentencing on Dec. 16, where he faces 100 years in Montana State Prison with 50 years suspended and a 25-year parole restriction.

The Montana Attorney General’s Office sent the following:

A Montana man previously linked to a missing Arizona teenager pleaded guilty Monday in Hill County District Court to one count of child sexual abuse after authorities found child sexual abuse material on his cellphone last year, Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced today.

Edmund Davis, 37, admitted having child sexual abuse material on his electronic devices. A review of the content determined that the individuals depicted were under the age of 13; two images of children under the age of 5, including images of babies and toddlers, and other computer-generated or animated content depicting the sexualization of children.

The devices were discovered in July 2023, when the Havre Police Department executed a search warrant for Davis’ apartment after learning that a woman who disappeared in Glendale, Arizona, in 2019, when she was 14, was living there. When he opened the door, officers saw Davis in the kitchen behind him, throwing his cell phone into the trash can and placing items on top of the phone as if to hide it.

The phone and other electronic devices found during the search were turned over to the Department of Criminal Investigation Computer Forensics Unit in Helena. DCI agents later executed a separate search warrant for the electronic devices and located a photo series of known child sexual abuse material and other evidentiary images.

The sentencing hearing is scheduled for December 16, 2024. The state will ask the court to sentence Davis to the Montana State Prison for 100 years with 50 years suspended and a 25-year parole restriction.

Assistant Attorneys General Selene Koepke and John Nesbitt are prosecuting the case, which is being investigated by the Havre Police Department, the Glendale (Ariz.) Police Department and the Montana Bureau of Criminal Investigation.