Lincoln Man Sentenced for Second Offense Possession of Child Pornography

Acting United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Adam Bates, 37, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was sentenced on December 2, 2022, by United States District Court Judge John M. Gerrard to a term of 120 months’ imprisonment following his conviction for possession of child pornography. After he completes his prison sentence, Bates will also serve ten years on supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

On July 1, 2016, Bates’ state parole officer contacted the Nebraska State Patrol to report that she found Bates in possession of a cellular phone in violation of his parole conditions during a recent parole visit. On July 8, 2016, investigators spoke with Bates who admitted he had cell phones. He consented to a search of the phones and investigators found child pornography saved on one of the phones. Investigators obtained a search warrant to search Bates’s electronic devices. Investigators located numerous images of child pornography on one of Bates’s phones. At the time, Bates was on parole due to a 2011 conviction from Lancaster County for possession of child pornography.

This case was investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol, and brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.