Lincoln Man Sentenced to 5 Years for Receipt of Child Pornography

United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Andre N. Schwindt, age 43, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was sentenced on August 13, 2024, in federal court in Lincoln for receipt of child pornography. Senior United States District Judge Joseph F. Bataillon sentenced Meyer to 60 months' imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Schwindt's release from prison, he will begin a 5-year term of supervised release. Schwindt was additionally ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution.

This case began on April 11, 2022, when a CyberTip to National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) indicated that a Dropbox user uploaded three files on April 10, 2022, which were considered child pornography. The IP addresses associated with the CyberTip came back to Schwindt at an address in Lincoln. On or about July 27, 2023, an investigator met with Schwindt in Lincoln. During the meeting, Schwindt admitted to owning the Dropbox account, viewing child pornography involving children under the age of 14, and actively searching for it. Schwindt also gave the investigator permission to preview his cell phone. Schwindt showed the investigator where the child pornography files would be found on his cell phone.

Schwindt's cell phone was seized and on August 1, 2023, a search warrant was received to forensically review the contents of the cell phone. During the examination of the phone, the investigator found more than 534 images and 9 video files of child pornography. Most files depicted male children under the age of 12.

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 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.

This case was investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol.