United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that James W. Youngblood, 38, formerly of North Platte, Nebraska, was sentenced today in Lincoln, Nebraska, to 66 months in prison by United States District Judge John M. Gerrard, for possession of child pornography.  After his release from prison, Youngblood will serve an additional 7 years on supervised release and be required to register as a sex offender.

In March of 2015, investigators with the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office observed an IP address making known child pornography files available for sharing.  Further investigation by law enforcement determined the physical location of the internet service to be at Youngblood’s residence in North Platte.  A search warrant was executed at the residence and an on-scene preview of Youngblood’s computer confirmed the presence of the child pornography.  Youngblood admitted to officers that he had in fact downloaded and viewed child pornography.

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 Federal Bureau of Investigation.