From wire reports

Man gets 35-50 years in sex sting

JACKSON -- A judge has sentenced a man who went to a motel room to have sex with a minor -- and instead was arrested in a sting operation -- to 35 to 50 years in prison.

District Judge Nancy Guthrie sentenced Lloyd Christopher Belles, 39, on Friday.

Belles had two previous convictions in Teton County, both from 1992. One was for fondling a 6-year-old girl, and the other was for a sexual encounter with a 12-year-old boy.

Police again became interested in Belles after learning that he sought help controlling his urges to have sex with young girls, according to court documents.

The documents also show that police heard he was loitering near children.

An undercover officer working with an acquaintance of Belles arranged for Belles to go to a motel to meet a nonexistent minor on Oct. 31. Belles was told to bring a towel and candy to the motel, and Belles did so.

He was arrested and pleaded guilty to attempted sexual abuse of a minor.

"The sun may be shining today," Teton County prosecutor Brian Hultman said at Belles' sentencing Friday. "But it's a dark day in the courtroom."

Hultman said he had no hope that Belles could be rehabilitated after a lifetime in state institutions -- jails, prisons and mental hospitals.

"That fact makes me sad," Hultman said. "I really don't have a choice, given all the information I have before me. I have to recommend the maximum sentence in this case, 45 to 50 years. I do that to protect the people I serve."

Theft sends woman to prison

CHEYENNE -- A judge has sentenced a woman to four to 10 years in prison for stealing nearly $109,000 from a real estate business.

Laramie County District Judge Edward Grant sentenced 46-year-old Mary Spencer on Friday.

Spencer had entered an Alford plea on larceny charges. An Alford plea allows a defendant to not admit guilt while acknowledging that enough evidence exists for a conviction.

Court documents allege that Spencer pilfered nearly $109,000 from a real-estate firm where she worked an office coordinator. Prosecutors said she used an accounting program to alter 21 checks and had a friend cash those checks at a bank.

Grizzly panel marks 25 years

MISSOULA, Mont. -- A committee working on behalf of grizzly bears plans to celebrate 25 years of bear recovery.

Representation on the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, established in 1983, includes the Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, state wildlife departments in Montana, Idaho, Washington and Wyoming, and the Canadian Wildlife Service.

When grizzlies received Endangered Species Act protection in 1975, biologists estimated the United States had as few as 600 to 800 outside of Alaska. Today they estimate the number may have doubled. Endangered species protection for grizzlies in the Yellowstone ecosystem ended recently.

The committee plans a daylong anniversary celebration, open to the public, on June 21 at the Blackfoot-Clearwater Wildlife Management Area 45 miles east of Missoula.