Former Omaha Police officer pleads guilty to child pornography charges

LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) - A former Omaha Police officer facing federal child pornography charges changed his plea to guilty on one of them Monday.

Christopher Groth was originally charged in February 2022 with transporting child pornography a couple weeks before two other related charges were added. The 39-year-old pled guilty earlier this month to one count of producing child pornography; and entered a guilty plea Monday to a count of possessing child porn, changing his initial plea of “not guilty.”

“There is no plea agreement in this case,” court records state.

Senior Magistrate Judge John M. Gerrard presided over Monday’s hearing.

Court documents state that Groth coerced a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct between September and December 2020 for the purpose of producing a visual depiction. In those documents, Groth admits to having eight such images.

The documents also indicate that Groth has been in treatment for a mental or emotional condition “since 2002-2003 sporadically.”

Groth initially appeared in federal court on Feb. 16, waiving his right to a preliminary hearing.

Court documents state that Groth has been remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshal’s office and will remain at Saline County Jail until his sentencing hearing set for June 5, nearly exactly two years after he came into possession of the images, court documents indicate.

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