Joshua James Just, Child Pornography Possession, NE 2017

Funk, NE – Joshua James Just, a 39-year-old former resident of Funk, Nebraska, was slammed with a 66-month prison sentence for his despicable possession of child pornography. United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced the verdict on January 20, 2017, in Lincoln.

Just will spend an additional seven years under supervised release and must register as a sex offender, paying a $1,000 fine to boot. The sentence was handed down by United States District Judge John M. Gerrard.

The case began unraveling in March 2015 when an investigator from the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office stumbled upon child pornography files available for sharing via an IP address. A deep dive led them straight to Just’s Funk residence, where they discovered the sinister truth.

Investigators downloaded several digital files, including one that was 10 minutes and 2 seconds long, depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Two other files were similarly vile, featuring prepubescent minors involved in child pornography. A search warrant executed on Just’s home uncovered more than 22,761 videos and image files, with 209 of them deemed ‘files of interest’ related to past child pornography investigations.

Project Safe Childhood, a Justice Department initiative to combat the child sexual exploitation epidemic, played a pivotal role in this case. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood mobilizes federal, state, and local resources to track down and prosecute pedophiles who prey on children online.

This case, investigated by the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, is a stark reminder of the ongoing battle against child exploitation. For more information on this crucial initiative, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.