Omaha, NE – Byron G. Morales, 57, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced on May 18, 2026, to 126 months in federal prison for receipt and distribution of child pornography. Chief District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. also imposed a five-year term of supervised release following his imprisonment, noting there is no parole in the federal system.
The investigation began on October 20, 2020, when Facebook, Inc. reported four files to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which were then forwarded to law enforcement. FBI agents interviewed Morales on July 7, 2023, where he admitted to receiving and possessing child pornography, viewing it from 2018 through spring 2023, primarily via Facebook and WhatsApp chat groups.
During a review of Morales’s Samsung Galaxy cell phone, agents discovered multiple photographs and videos depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Morales knowingly received and possessed these visual depictions between December 7, 2018, and July 7, 2023. This case was part of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative aimed at combating child sexual exploitation.