Keith H. Rivera, Possession of Child Pornography, Nebraska 2023

Kimball Man Sentenced for Possession of Child Pornography

A 35-year-old man from Kimball, Nebraska, has been sentenced to 48 months in prison for possession of child pornography. Keith H. Rivera was sentenced on March 24, 2023, by Senior United States District Judge Richard G. Kopf in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Rivera will also serve a 5-year term of supervised release, with no possibility of parole. After his release from prison, he will be required to register as a sex offender.

The investigation into Rivera's possession of child pornography began in March 2018, when the Okanogan County Sheriff's Office in Tonasket, Washington, received a tip from the FBI based on a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The tip reported that an individual using a specific IP address, email address, and user name had uploaded child pornography to their file-sharing account.

An investigation was launched, and a search warrant was served on the individual's residence in Washington, resulting in the seizure of several electronic items, including a cellphone. The phone contained messages with child pornography, and further analysis revealed that the messages were sent from a 308 area code in August 2017. The 308 area code was linked to Rivera's phone number, and a federal search warrant was served at his residence in Kimball.

A forensic review of Rivera's phone found evidence of two videos sent to the Washington individual in August 2017. Further analysis showed additional images and videos of child pornography that Rivera had downloaded from the internet.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children online and to identify and rescue victims.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ne/pr/kimball-man-sentenced-possession-child-pornography