Department of Justice
United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Cody D. Vancura, 30, of Lexington, Nebraska, was sentenced on February 7, 2024, in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska, for transportation of child pornography with a prior conviction.
Senior United States District Court Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Vancura to 240 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Vancura’s release from prison, he will begin an 8-year term of supervised release.
In January of 2021, Vancura saved child pornography files to his online Google account. The IP address associated with the Google activity was traced to Vancura’s cell phone. Law enforcement contacted Vancura in May of 2021 and he acknowledged ownership of the Google account and cellphone. Vancura also stated he had 219 images of child pornography saved on his cell phone. Vancura also utilized applications on his phone to chat with other online users, send and view child pornography, and pretend to be other people, including children.
Law enforcement conducted a forensic examination of Vancura’s phone and observed at least 200 images and seven videos depicting child pornography.
Vancura had been convicted previously of attempted sexual assault of a minor in Red Willow County, Nebraska in 2014.
This case was investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol and 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.