United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that John Mezger, 64, was sentenced in federal court in Omaha for possessing child pornography.  The Honorable Joseph F. Bataillon sentenced Mezger to a four year term of imprisonment.  There is no parole in the federal system.  After his release from prison Mezger will begin a five year term of supervised release.  He will also be required to register as a sex offender.

Mezger, a retired school teacher, was found in possession of eight videos of child pornography on May 25, 2011.  Agents with Homeland Security Investigations served a federal search warrant on Mezger’s Northwest Omaha residence.  Five videos recovered from his laptop computer depicted 12 to 15 year old girls involved in sexually explicit conduct.  Three similar videos were located on a thumb drive.  Mezger admitted to downloading and deleting other images of 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 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. 

 

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