Omaha Man Sentenced to 130 Months for Distribution of Child Pornography

Acting United States Attorney Matthew R. Molsen announced that Nathanial A. Lazanis, 43, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced on April 30, 2025, in federal court in Omaha for distribution of child pornography. United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Lazanis to 130 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Lazanis’s release from prison, he will begin a five-year term of supervised release. Lazanis was also ordered to pay restitution of $3,000 to each of three identified victims.

On September 25, 2023, a Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) investigator conducted an online investigation on the BitTorrent network for offenders sharing child pornography. Using a computer running BitTorrent investigative software, the investigator directly connected to a device at Lazanis’s address and downloaded files Lazanis’s device made available. Two of those files contained child pornography.  NSP’s investigative software identified the IP address used by Lazanis’s device and learned it came back to Lazanis’s residence in Omaha. 

On October 24, 2023, NSP served a search warrant at Lazanis’s residence and seized his electronic devices for forensic examination. After agreeing to speak with investigators, Lazanis admitted using the BitTorrent network to search for and download child pornography.  Investigators found the BitTorrent client on Lazanis’s computer to be actively downloading child pornography when searching his home.  Investigators forensically extracted and analyzed Lazanis’s electronic devices. The device extractions revealed Lazanis possessed at least 3,828 child pornography image files and 256 child pornography video files. The files included pornographic images and videos involving prepubescent children, including toddlers, adults having sex with children, and depictions of masochistic conduct.   

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.

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