United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that Ian B. Wait, 24, of Lincoln, Nebraska was sentenced for distributing child pornography. The Honorable Richard G. Kopf, Senior United States District Court Judge sentenced Wait to prison for 135 months. There is no parole in the federal prison system. After his release from prison Wait will begin a 15 year term of supervised release and be required to register as a sex offender.
Wait was brought to the attention of law enforcement based on a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. An Internet Service Provider reported a user was observed displaying an image of child pornography during a webcam session. The Internet Protocol address of that user was provided to the Nebraska State Patrol. The address was traced to Wait’s residence in Lincoln, Nebraska.
On Sept. 11, 2013, Wait admitted to an Investigator with the Nebraska State Patrol that he had used an internet service to distribute and receive child pornography. He admitted to exchanging texts with an individual representing himself as a ten year old girl. The communications resulted in Wait’s receipt of a sexually explicit photo of a ten year old girl. Wait consented to a search of his computer. A total of 867 images of child pornography were found on the computer.
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg expressed her appreciation to the Nebraska State Patrol for their investigation of this case. The case was prosecuted under the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative. Project Safe Childhood is 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
