United States Attorney Robert C. Stuart announced that United States District Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Christopher Rueter, 46, of Lincoln, Nebraska, to 57 months in federal prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release for possession of child pornography.
On August 8, 2016, while reviewing data for Peer-to-Peer investigations, Investigators of the Lincoln Police Department observed an IP address making known child pornography files available for sharing. Further investigation revealed that an Investigator for the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office had made a previous direct connection with this same IP address and downloaded 549 files, many files depicting child pornography.
Investigation by LPD determined that Time Warner was the Internet Service Provider for the IP address used and the physical location of the user assigned the IP address was defendant’s residence in Lincoln, Nebraska. On Aug. 16, 2016, a search warrant was executed on defendant’s residence. Defendant admitted to using BitTorrent file sharing and downloading child pornography and child erotica. Investigators performed an on-scene preview of defendant’s computer, which revealed multiple child pornography images. Seized from the location were numerous computers, external hard drives, and thumb drive devices. A complete forensic examination was completed on the seized desktop computer. Both child erotica and child pornography files were found along with more than 1500 image files of child pornography, including several image files of prepubescent minors and children under the age of 12 engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Several of the image files are of minors whose identity has been confirmed by law enforcement.
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.
This case was investigated by the Lincoln Police Department.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
