A Lancaster County investigator alleged a search of Brian Rosenthal's phone turned up several images of known or suspected child pornography and two online conversations where he allegedly shared two
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Former sportswriter now facing child porn charges in Lincoln
by Lori Pilger, Lincoln Journal Star
A former sportswriter accused of sexually assaulting a child in Nemaha County now is facing child pornography charges in Lincoln.
The Lancaster County Attorney's Office on Tuesday charged 49-year-old Brian Rosenthal with two counts of generating child pornography and one count of possessing it.
He hasn't yet been set for court in the newly filed case, which involves the same victim he's accused of sexually assaulting in Nemaha County.
Rosenthal remains in jail there, his bond is set at $1 million.
According to the complaint, the initial charges stem from a string of incidents from December 2017 to February 2018, in which Rosenthal is alleged to have sexually assaulted a 15-year-old on four separate occasions in rural Nemaha County.
If convicted as charged, Rosenthal would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a possible maximum sentence of life in prison.
He could face a mandatory minimum of six years more if convicted of the child porn charges filed Tuesday.
According to court records in that case, Jeremy Schwarz, an investigator with the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office, said he was contacted by the Nemaha County Sheriff regarding the investigation there. Schwarz asked for assistance in a search of Rosenthal's Lincoln apartment for nude pictures of the boy on a memory card.
On July 26, the same day a warrant went out for Rosenthal's arrest in Nemaha County, Schwarz got a warrant to search Rosenthal's apartment and seized multiple phones, computers and media storage devices.
He alleged a later search of Rosenthal's phone turned up several images of known or suspected child pornography and two online messaging conversations where he shared two naked images of the 15-year-old.
Rosenthal worked for the Journal Star from 2001 to 2016 and the University of Nebraska athletic department from 2016 to 2020.