On Monday, a former Omaha Police officer was found guilty of having and creating child pornography.
Production and Possession of Child Pornography; Police Officer Arrested
A judge in Lincoln condemned Christopher Groth, 39-year-old, of Gretna, to 36 years in jail on one count each of possession and production of child pornography. Groth was also sentenced to 20 years of supervised release and forced to pay a $3,000 special assessment that would go into funds set up for victims of this crime and others like it.
Christopher Groth exploits the children in an abominable and horrific way, claims Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel, according to a statement from the office of Acting U.S. Attorney Susan Lehr. Groth was charged in February 2022, just a few weeks before two further charges connected to the original charge of transporting child pornography were added. The 39-year-old modified his first “not guilty” plea for possession to a guilty one in March after entering a plea of guilty to one count of making child pornography. He was lodged in the Saline County Prison.
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Police Officer Pleads Guilty on the Charges
Monday’s hearing was presided over by senior magistrate judge John M. Gerrard. In order to provide a graphic portrayal, Groth allegedly coerced a child to participate in sexually explicit behavior between September 2020 and December 2020, according to court documents. In the docs, Groth admits to having eight of these images.
In addition, the check of Groth’s phone and email account turned up more than 700 “child exploitation files depicting other unidentified children,” according to the press statement. The documents also said that Groth has “since 2002-2003 sporadically” received treatment for a mental or emotional disorder.
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