January 26, 2026 – A federal grand jury returned an indictment Thursday against Carlos Andrew Dominguez, 25, of Lincoln, charging him with distribution of child sexual abuse material, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

Image by Ray Shrewsberry • Ray_Shrewsberry from Pixabay 

According to court documents, between March 6, 2025, and January 9, 2026, Dominguez used peer-to-peer messaging apps to distribute hundreds of depictions of children engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Malinski is prosecuting the case.

Dominguez is currently in federal custody following his arrest on a criminal complaint. If convicted, Dominguez faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.

Source: DOJ Release