Lincoln Man Sentenced to More Than 7 Years in Prison for Receipt of Child Pornography

Acting United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Ismael R. Cuevas, 32, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was sentenced today in Lincoln by United States District Judge John M. Gerrard for receipt of child pornography. Cuevas was sentenced to 7 years and 3 months in prison and 7 years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.  Cuevas was additionally ordered to pay $3,000 which will contribute to funds established for victims of these types of cases.

On October 3, 2020, a Nebraska State Patrol investigator used peer-to-peer software to connect to an IP address (later identified to be Cuevas’s residence) and downloaded four files containing child pornography.  On January 7, 2021, a federal search warrant was executed at Cuevas’s residence.  During the search, Cuevas’s cellphone was seized.  The agents unlocked his phone using the biometric access permission within the search warrant.  Immediately upon looking at the phone, the investigators saw an application on the phone and witnessed that it was in the middle of downloading multiple child pornographic files.

Several devices were seized during the execution of the search warrant.  A laptop computer used by Cuevas, a USB drive belonging to Cuevas, and his cellphone.  A forensic download and examination were completed for each of those devices.  The examination of his cellphone revealed more than 100 video files of child pornography and 17,430 images of child pornography, the laptop revealed 24 images of child pornography, and the USB drive revealed more than 50 files 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 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 case was investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol.