Jerald Vrbas, age 60, of Palisade, Nebraska, was sentenced in United States District Court for producing child pornography. The Honorable John M. Gerrard committed Vrbas to the custody of the United States Bureau of Prisons for a term of fifteen (15) years. There is no parole in the federal penal system. After his release from prison Vrbas will be on supervised release for an additional fifteen years. The Court further noted that Vrbas will be in prison until age 75 and remain under supervision until age 90.
Vrbas took sexually explicit pictures of a three year old child in his home in Palisade. After taking the pictures he uploaded them to a Russian website where they could be viewed by others. The website reported the violation and the Internet Protocol address of the offending computer to the Department of Homeland Security. Further investigation determined that Vrbas had also distributed the images of the three year old child and other child pornography to an individual in Iowa and a second individual in Wauneta, Nebraska.
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg expressed her appreciation to Homeland Security Investigations and the North Platte Police Department for their thorough investigation. U.S. Attorney Gilg reiterated that the sexual exploitation of minors will not be tolerated and those who produce, distribute and possess child pornography will face harsh federal penalties for doing so.
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.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
