RENO, Nev. - A Reno resident who used a peer-to-peer file sharing network to download child pornography was sentenced today to three years in prison to be followed by lifetime supervised release, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Trutanich for the District of Nevada.
Randall Linscheid, 31, of Reno, pleaded guilty on Oct. 3, 2019, to one count of possession of child pornography. Chief U.S. District Judge Miranda M. Du presided over the sentencing hearing today. In addition to the term of imprisonment followed by lifetime supervised release, Linscheid must register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
According to court documents, between December 2018 and January 2019, law enforcement discovered that Linscheid had downloaded child pornography via a peer-to-peer file-sharing network. On March 26, 2019, HSI Special Agents and Northern Nevada Cyber Center Investigators executed a search warrant at Linscheid’s residence. Of the electronic devices seized by law enforcement, three contained images and videos of child pornography. All of these devices belonged to Linscheid. During an interview with law enforcement, Linscheid admitted that he had been downloading child pornography images for approximately 16 years and that he would save the images to an external hard drive. A forensic analysis of the three devices that were seized revealed 2,143 images and 39 videos of child pornography.
The case is a product of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy St. Clair prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 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.justice.gov/psc.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
