Former Nebraska deputy accused of child porn possession

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A former Nebraska sheriff’s deputy is facing five child pornography charges.

In a press release Monday, the Webster County Sheriff’s Office said it fired Zach Pohlmeier the day after learning of the allegations.

Court documents show that Pohlmeier was charged last week with five counts of possession of child pornography.

He was arrested Thursday and booked into the Adams County Jail. The jail said Monday that he has since bonded out.

The investigation into Pohlmeier began in July, according to an arrest affidavit.

A company that provides cloud storage for Verizon Wireless reported that a user had uploaded three child pornography files

The Nebraska State Patrol got a search warrant for the Verizon account associated with the files and discovered that it was Pohlmeier’s, the affidavit says.

Authorities said the IP address that uploaded the files was also traced to Pohlmeier.

The sheriff’s office said it found out about the allegations on March 6 and fired Pohlmeier on the morning of March 7, before his next shift.

That same day, investigators seized his phone and sent it to the crime lab. They found 36 child porn files, according to the affidavit.

Phelps County Attorney Corey O’Brien has been appointed as a special prosecutor in the case.

The sheriff’s office said it has cooperated fully and will continue to do so.

Pohlmeier is set to be arraigned Friday in Webster County Court.