Roy Reid

A 78-year-old Powell resident has been jailed after he was allegedly caught trying to solicit sex from vulnerable women in the Billings area.

Roy S. Reid was arrested on Aug. 13 and subsequently charged by Yellowstone County, Montana, prosecutors with a felony count of aggravated sex trafficking.

Reid has pleaded not guilty to the charge, but he remained in custody on Wednesday, as he’s been unable to post a $25,000 bond.

The Billings Gazette obtained a copy of Reid’s charging documents and say authorities are alleging that Reid “preyed on homeless and indigent women in Billings for sexual acts in exchange for cash and alcohol.” The publication reported that when Reid was questioned by police, he allegedly “admitted to spending the past two years visiting Billings to coerce some of the most vulnerable women in the city into sex.”

Authorities say an agent with the Montana Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation saw Reid pick up a “known trafficking victim” at a homeless outreach facility called St. Vincent de Paul in June. The department says Reid and his white Chevy Equinox were later spotted at the facility and at the Montana Rescue Mission’s homeless shelter on “multiple” other occasions, but that agents didn’t have enough evidence to make an arrest at the time.

However, on Aug. 12 and 13, staff at the Montana Rescue Mission reported that the man in the Chevy — later identified as Reid — was badgering and soliciting sex from women at the shelter, the Gazette
reported.

DCI, the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office and Billings Police Department were able to locate Reid’s vehicle and pulled him over.

In an interview, he allegedly admitted that he was “looking for hookers,” the Gazette reported, and an agent found a blanket, a wad of cash and bottles of vodka in his SUV.

Charging documents say Billings police initially let Reid go with a notice to appear in court, but arrested him after he allegedly went right back to the Montana Rescue Mission, the Gazette reported.

The Montana Department of Justice highlighted Reid’s arrest in an Aug. 17 press release. In a post to social media, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said the department’s agents “did outstanding work” on the case. 

“Sex traffickers are not welcome in Montana,” Knudsen wrote.

Reid’s next court date is tentatively set for Sept. 3 in Billings, with a trial penciled in for Dec. 28.