An Alda man was sentenced for attempted production of child pornography.
In federal court Wednesday, Michael Melgaard, 54, was sentenced to 240 months in prison for two counts of attempted production of child pornography. Melgaard will also serve 10 years on supervised release. Melgaard was also ordered to pay $6,000 which will go towards a fund established for victims of these types of crimes.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. The investigation began in January 2022 during a separate case involving Melgaard.
Several search warrants were executed on Melgaard’s residence and electronic devices. Law enforcement found 14 images of child pornography. Melgaard admitted to taking nude photographs of several minors aged 4-11. These photographs would happen while the minor victims would change their clothes, showered, or while they were asleep. He indicated that he would keep the images for a short period of time before deleting them.
This case was investigated by the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, the Grand Island Police Department, and the Department of Homeland Security.
