Child pornography conviction puts Holdrege man in prison for over 11 years

HOLDREGE, Neb. -- A sentence of 11 1/2 years in prison was given to a Holdrege man following his conviction for child pornography.

U.S. Attorney Steven Russell said 41-year-old Cory Sikes, of Holdrege, was sentenced in Lincoln on Wednesday. He was convicted for possession of child pornography. Sikes will serve 138 months in prison with a 10-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Sikes will also pay $3,000 to funds created for victims of these types of crimes.

According to court documents, a CyberTipline Report (“CTR”) was given to the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children from a social media app on Oct. 31, 2021. The CTR stated that eight images and one video of child pornography were uploaded by someone, later identified as Sikes, between Oct. 28, 2021 and Oct. 29, 2021.

Officials said a search warrant was used on Jan. 13, 2022, for Sikes’ home. Sikes admitted to looking for child pornography online. Multiple devices that belonged to Sikes were taken and examined.

Authorities said Sikes’s personal cellphone had 120 images of child pornography and another 483 images which were questionable and/or child erotica. His laptop had 350 images of child pornography and another 500 images which were questionable and/or child erotica.