United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg for the District of Nebraska and Barbara L. McQuade for the Eastern District of Michigan announced that Brandon L. Hennerberg, 31, formerly of Fairbury, Nebraska, was sentenced today to 35 years in federal prison for his participation in a child exploitation enterprise.  Hennerberg was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Richard G. Kopf in Lincoln, Nebraska.  He was originally charged, along with five co-defendants, in the Eastern District of Michigan in a 28-count indictment with the crimes of child exploitation enterprise, numerous counts of conspiracy to produce child pornography, conspiracy to receive and access with intent to view child pornography, and aiding and abetting online enticement.  On June 21, 2016, in Lincoln, Nebraska, Hennerberg pleaded guilty to one count of child exploitation enterprise, carrying a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence.

The investigation determined that from at least January of 2014 to February of 2016, Hennerberg was a member of a group of individuals that worked together online to entice minor females to produce child pornography.  The group members created fraudulent social media accounts posing as teenagers. Using the assumed identities, group members searched social media websites and engaged minor females, specifically targeting 10 to 14-year-old girls, in conversation using internet chat and video applications. The group members worked together for hours and sometimes even days to deceive their victims and convince them to undress and engage in sexually explicit activity live on a web camera, which the group members recorded.

The group members used an elaborate scheme to entice, coerce, and deceive their victims.  Each group member had at least one role, although at times a group member would play more than one role or switch from one role to another.  The “hunters” visited social media websites commonly used by minors to locate minors and bring them back to the other group members.  The “talkers” were primarily responsible for conversing with the minors.  They asked the minors to do “dares” which escalated into sexual activity.  If a victim was suspicious of the group members or reluctant to engage in sexual activity, the “loopers” would then play a previously recorded video of a minor engaged in sexual activity, pretending to be that minor, in order to convince the victim to engage in the same type of activity.  Meanwhile, the “watchers” in the group were in charge of ensuring that no suspected law enforcement members or unwanted persons were present.

The group victimized at least 100 minor girls, most of whom have yet to be identified. If you have any information to help identify victims of this online conspiracy, fill out the FBI’s confidential survey at fbi.gov/sextortion or contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) atwww.missingkids.com. A confidential email can also be sent to FBI.VICTIMASSISTANCE@ic.fbi.gov. Or call 1-800-CALL-FBI FREE (225-5324).

Co-defendants Virgil Napier, Jr. and John Garrison entered guilty pleas in June and July respectively and are currently scheduled to be sentenced in October by U.S. District Court Judge Judith E. Levy in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Co-defendants Justin Fuller, Thomas Dougherty and Dantly Nicart cases are at various stages in the proceedings.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Southeast Michigan Trafficking and Exploitation Crimes Task Force and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys April Russo and Sara Woodward.

PLATTSMOUTH, Neb. (AP) — Southeast Nebraska law enforcement officials are warning businesses and the public to be on the lookout for counterfeit cash.

The Plattsmouth Police Department issued the warning after fake $100 and $20 bills have been found at local businesses in recent days.

Police say they have no leads on who is responsible for the counterfeit money, or if the bills went through several hands unknowingly.

Police Chief Steve Rathman says the bills were discovered during the time money was being counted, not at the time of payment.

Police say the bills are being forwarded to the U.S. Secret Service.

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CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Police say a gunman shot three people outside a Cheyenne nursing home Wednesday morning before killing himself as police closed in on him.

Police spokesman Dan Long says one of the three people shot by the unidentified gunman is dead. There’s no immediate word on the condition of the other two victims.

Long described the gunman as an elderly male and says he was a resident of the nursing home on Cheyenne’s northeast side. The shootings happened shortly after 11 a.m.

Long says the gunman fled the scene, but he killed himself as officers approached him at a location nearby.

The investigation into the shooting is continuing. Long says it’s not known yet whether the three shooting victims lived at the nursing home.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The downtown Lincoln sidewalk ban on bicycles may remain in place longer than expected.

City officials have been sharing with bike groups and people who live and work downtown the plans to eliminate the ban. The proposed changes are aimed at providing consistency across the city, promoting biking and bringing city ordinances in line with a new state law that now lets people ride their bikes in crosswalks through intersections, among other changes.

But city staffers fear opposition to removing the ban could derail the other local changes, so they probably won’t include the ban removal in the bike-related proposal heading to the City Council this fall.

The measure is expected to resurface when the city bike share program begins next year.

FULLERTON, Neb. (AP) — A sheriff’s deputy has shot at a mountain lion found in the front yard of an east-central Nebraska residence.

A resident on the west side of Fullerton reported the big cat around 9:30 a.m. Sunday. A Nance County deputy sent to investigate found the mountain lion resting in the yard. The deputy reported that the animal began pacing the yard and went toward the resident and the deputy. That’s when the deputy fired.

Chief Deputy Ben Bakewell says it hasn’t been confirmed that the mountain lion was hit before running away. Bakewell says the deputy shot because the animal poses a threat to the town’s residents. Bakewell says the resident had noticed mountain lion tracks on the property for a few days.

GREELEY, Neb. (AP) — A man suspected of burglarizing the home of the brother of the late Nebraska punter Sam Foltz has seen charges filed against him in Greeley County.

38-year-old Scott Davis, of Lennox, South Dakota, faces six counts, including burglary and theft. Greeley County authorities say Davis broke into the home of Jordan Foltz on Sept. 3 as the Foltz family attended a memorial for Sam Foltz at the Huskers’ home opener.

Davis is also suspected in a theft at a Greeley construction site.

Davis was arrested in York County on Sept. 4 on suspicion of driving drunk, and officers say they found items in his car believed to have been stolen from Jordan Foltz.

Davis’ attorney didn’t immediately return a phone message left Wednesday.