Robert Blessing, a 28-year-old resident of Fremont, Nebraska, has been sentenced to 97 months in federal prison for distributing child pornography. The sentence was handed down by Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr., in Omaha on March 20, 2025. Following his prison term, Blessing will be subject to six years of supervised release and must pay $3,500 in restitution to each of four identified victims.
The case against Blessing began on August 14, 2023, when Medialab/KIK reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that a user had uploaded a video depicting child pornography on June 29, 2023. The IP address linked to this activity was traced back to Blessing's residence in Fremont. A search warrant was obtained for his KIK account by a Nebraska State Patrol investigator who confirmed that Blessing had sent the reported video to another user.
On October 5, 2023, authorities executed a search warrant at Blessing's home and seized electronic devices which were then analyzed. Investigators found over 1,900 image files and 26 video files of child pornography on these devices. The content included images and videos involving prepubescent children and infants engaged in sexual acts with adults as well as depictions of sadomasochism.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse nationwide. It involves collaboration between U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), alongside federal, state, and local resources.
The investigation into this case was conducted by the Nebraska State Patrol.