Omaha Man Sentenced to 210 Months for Production of Child Pornography

United States Attorney Susan T. Lehr announced that Neon Chang, age 41, of Omaha, Nebraska was sentenced on August 23, 2024, in federal court in Omaha for production of visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Chang to 210 months' imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After his release from prison, Chang will be required to complete a 10-year term of supervised release. Chang was also ordered to pay a special assessment in the amount of $5,000 pursuant to the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Victim Assistance Act of 2018.

An investigation into the online sharing of child pornography led law enforcement officers to obtain a warrant for the search of Chang's residence in November 2023. Chang was not present but was later interviewed at his place of employment. Chang told investigators that he used a specific software program to receive and download child pornography. Among the child pornography files made available for sharing by Chang through the peer-to-peer program included prepubescent minors, minors under the age of twelve, and files showing sexual abuse or exploitation of toddlers. Chang also admitted that in 2019, he recorded sexual encounters involving himself, his spouse, and a minor victim.

Investigators were able to locate 28 video files on a computer seized from the basement of the residence. The investigator viewed the video files and found they were created in January and February of 2019, when the minor victim was approximately thirteen years old. The videos corroborated Chang's statements regarding the sexual encounters involving him, his spouse, and the minor victim. One of the videos recorded from a stationary camera depicts the minor victim having sexual intercourse with Chang's spouse at Chang's direction, while Chang was also using a cell phone camera to record the sexual encounter. During the sentencing hearing, Chief Judge Rossiter characterized Chang's conduct as "beyond horrible."

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 Attorney's 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 Douglas County Sheriff's Office and the Omaha Federal Bureau of Investigation's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.