Source: US FBI
United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced that Michael Scott, 60, of Murray, Nebraska, was sentenced on May 8, 2025, in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska, for Distribution of Child Pornography. United States District Judge Susan M. Bazis sentenced Scott to 300 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Scott’s release from prison, he will begin a 10-year term of supervised release. Scott was also ordered to pay $69,000 in restitution.
The Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) received a cybertip from Discord reporting a user had uploaded two files depicting alleged child pornography. An Investigator with NSP was able to view the images and confirm they were child pornography.
The Investigator confirmed the phone number from the cybertip belonged to Scott at his address in Murray. A search warrant was executed for the Discord account from the cybertip. A review of the contents found the distribution of additional child pornography. There were at least seven images of child pornography uploaded to the Discord account, at least one of which was included in the cybertip.
During a search of Scott’s residence, Investigators recovered 14 electronic devices. During a review of Scott’s cellphone, Investigators found a total of 19,807 photos of child pornography and 5,126 videos of child pornography. Among the other devices, Investigators found 200 additional photos of child pornography. Investigators also found a conversation on Discord where Scott sent at least one image of child pornography to another user on January 9, 2024. Investigators also located at least four files of child pornography that were uploaded to Discord on January 17, 2024.
In a consensual interview at the residence, Scott confirmed the Discord account and username, phone number and email address all belonged to him. Scott admitted to using his cell phone for viewing and trading 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 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 Omaha FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force and the Nebraska State Patrol.