Man caught with girl at Nebraska hotel sentenced for child pornography
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A Wyoming man was sentenced in Lincoln on Monday for the distribution of child pornography.
Clifton Reinoehl, 44, of Sheridan got 22 years in prison with a 15-year term of supervised release.
Reinoehl will be required to register as a sex offender and pay $54,000 in restitution to the victims.
In February 2023, the manager of a hotel in Schuyler, Nebraska, called law enforcement to report a suspicious man leaving the hotel with a young girl.
Authorities responded to the hotel, and while they were there, Reinoehl returned with the girl.
He told law enforcement that he rented a vehicle and drove to Schuyler to meet an “online friend” and that he knew she was a minor from their conversations online.
During an interview at the Schuyler Police Department, Reinoehl said his phone would have child pornography on it and signed a written consent to have it searched, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Reinoehl told police that he had an SD card and a laptop that also contained child pornography pictures and videos.
Law enforcement secured a search warrant for Reinoehl’s devices and found 2,689 child pornography files. Investigators classified another 14,278 files as child erotica.
Further investigation showed that Reinoehl manipulated and groomed children online to send him sexually explicit images of themselves, authorities said.
In pronouncing the sentence, U.S. District Judge John M. Gerrard said Reinoehl appeared to have a “significant lack of insight into the damage” he had inflicted.
Gerrard also commended the child victims for their courage in coming forward.
