Omaha Man – Repeat Offender – Sentenced to 135 Months for Possession of Child Pornography

United States Attorney Jan Sharp announced that Patrick D.J. Nicks, 42, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced today in federal court in Omaha for distribution and possession of child pornography. Chief United States District Court Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Nicks to imprisonment for 135 months. There is no parole in the federal system.  After completing his term of imprisonment, Nicks will begin a 15-year term of supervised release. Nicks must also pay $23,000 in restitution to victims of child pornography offenses.

In November of 2018, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office opened an investigation into Nicks after receiving 15 CyberTips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The CyberTips indicated that a user had been uploading images of child pornography using Microsoft Skype. Acting on the information contained within the CyberTips, investigators were able to determine that Nicks was the probable suspect. On July 9, 2020, officers executed a warrant to search Nicks’s Omaha residence and obtained Nicks’s electronic devices.

A forensic examiner completed a review of the data contained on each of the digital media items seized from Nicks. The examiner found evidence of child pornography on two devices, an HP laptop and a Dell desktop computer. The examiner found evidence of files depicting child pornography in at least 10 videos and more than 450 photos. Nicks admitted trading, sharing, and receiving images of child pornography with other Skype users.

Nicks was previously arrested in 2006 and charged with Possession of Child Pornography in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska. He was convicted on May 2, 2006, and sentenced on July 27, 2006 to imprisonment for a term of 36 months, followed by a 2-year term of supervised release.

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 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.

The case was investigated by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.