Omaha Man Sentenced for Possessing Child Pornography

United States Attorney Deborah Gilg and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Nebraska State Patrol, and FBI announce the following information for the attention of the media:

Event triggering this release:

Daniel A. Nieto, age 46 of Omaha, was sentenced for possessing child pornography. The Honorable Laurie Smith Camp sentenced Nieto to 10 years in prison. There is no parole in the federal system. After his release from prison, Nieto will begin a 10-year term of supervised release.

On August 5, 2010, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and other members of the FBI Cyber Crimes Task Force (CCTF) served a search warrant at Nieto’s residence. Agents seized two compact disks from a stand near Nieto’s bed. The disks contained 10 videos of child pornography. Nieto was on probation as a result of an Iowa conviction for lascivious acts with a child. Because of his prior conviction involving sexual abuse, he faced a mandatory minimum 10-year sentence for possession child pornography.

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 Attorneys’ 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 matter was investigated by the Omaha FBI’s Cyber Crime Task Force, of which the Nebraska State Patrol and Douglas County Sheriff’s Office are partners. The Omaha CCTF is a multi-jurisdictional task force consisting of 11 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies from Nebraska and Iowa. The mission of the Omaha CCTF is to investigate and apprehend high-technology criminals and to protect our communities by preventing high-technology crime and national security threats involving computers and computer networks. The Omaha CCTF was established on the premise that the capabilities of law enforcement agencies to investigate computer and high technology related crimes are enhanced in a task force setting involving the sharing of resources and expertise.

Name of Defendant: Daniel A. Nieto
AKA:
Age: 46
City of residence: Omaha, Nebraska
Crime(s) Charged and Potential Penalty (A CHARGE is merely an accusation and every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty): Possession of child pornography, 10-20 years' imprisonment, $250,000 fine, or both imprisonment and fine, not less than five years and up to life of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.
Specific Location of Alleged Crime: Omaha, Nebraska
Location of Arrest: Omaha, Nebraska
Alleged Dollar Loss/Type and Quantity of Drug:
Others Charged in Same Scheme:

Relevant Dates:
Date of Alleged Crime: On and before the 5th day of August, 2010
Federal Arrest Date: October 7, 2010
Date Complaint Issued: N/A
Indictment Returned Date: September 22, 2010
Initial Appearance Date: October 7, 2010
Plea or Trial and Date(s): Plead guilty on January 19, 2011
Sentencing Date: April 19, 2011
Next Court Hearing Type and Date: N/A

Assigned Magistrate Judge: F.A. Gossett III
Held without Bond, or Released from Custody: Held without Bond
In Continuous Custody Since: October 7, 2010
Assigned District Court Judge: Laurie Smith Camp
Initials of Assigned AUSA/Preparer of this Release: MPN