A man at the center of a multi-agency child sex investigation earlier this year is in the federal court system and is awaiting his next hearing.
Nicholas James Engelbert faces eight counts of sex exploitation of minors, whether through production or distribution of child sex materials, under the age of 12 intermittently between late September 2020 and this past February. Engelbert’s next hearing date is currently pending.
Engelbert was the subject of an investigation involving the FBI, the Osage County Sheriff’s Office and police departments in Garnett, Osage City and Ottawa, including a search warrant served at Engelbert’s Osage City apartment in late February.
If convicted, Engelbert faces anywhere from 5-30 years in prison, depending on the count. He had been briefly charged in Franklin County with aggravated internet trading in child pornography and sexual exploitation before federal charges were filed.
