Omaha Man Sentenced to 120 Months’ Imprisonment for Distribution and Receipt of Child Pornography

Acting United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Adam E. Schenkelberg, 37, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced on November 29, 2023, in federal court in Omaha for receipt and distribution of child pornography. United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Schenkelberg to 120 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After his release from prison, Schenkelberg will begin a 5-year term of supervised and will be required to register as a sex offender. Schenkeberg was also ordered to pay special assessments in the amounts of $7,500 and $5,000 pursuant to the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Victim Assistance Act of 2018, and the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015, respectively. 

On May 5, the Nebraska Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force received a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) concerning the upload of child pornography on Kik, an online file sharing service. The CyberTipline reports indicated that the user of a specific internet protocol (IP) address uploaded fourteen image and video files depicting child pornography between March 19, 2022, and March 23, 2022. Nebraska ICAC investigators received another CyberTipline report on August 25, 2022, noting the upload of four image and video files depicting child pornography from Kik on June 29, 2022. Investigators determined that the same suspect IP was assigned to Schenkelberg’s residential address in Sarpy County, Nebraska.

On November 3, 2022, investigators executed a warrant to search Schenkelberg’s home. Investigators seized several of Schenkelberg's electronic devices for forensic examination. On December 26, 2022, pursuant to a search warrant, Apple Inc. provided data from Schenkelberg’s Apple iCloud account. Investigators examined the Apple iCloud data and forensically examined the devices seized from his residence. From the iCloud account and the accessible electronic devices, investigators located additional images of child pornography, some involving toddlers. Schenkelberg’s cache of child pornography consisted of over 600 images.

This case was 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 United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case was investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol’s ICAC Task Force.