BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A former Montana high school athletic trainer who admitted to coercing boys into sexual abuse under the guise of improving their athletic performance has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison.
U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen sentenced 79-year-old James “Doc” Jensen Tuesday.
Jensen pleaded guilty in March to coercion and enticement for using the internet to develop “The Program” he used to abuse boys at Custer County District High School in Miles City from the 1970s until about 1998.
Thirty-two people filed a civil lawsuit against him. Prosecutors and Jensen’s public defender say they were many more victims.
U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said he hoped the sentence would help the victims begin to heal.
Montana lawmakers lifted the statute of limitations for prosecuting child sexual abuse, in part because of the Jensen case.
