Christensen sentenced to 15-25 years

For her role in what the judge called "rank, terrible crimes against children," Brandee Christensen, 31, was sentenced Wednesday to 15-25 years in prison.

Christensen, of Sterling, Colo., appeared before Judge Derek Weimer for sentencing in Cheyenne County District Court. In May, she pleaded no contest to one count of attempted violation of visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct, a class two felony.

In exchange for her plea, three other felony counts she faced were dropped, including two counts of intentionally committing child abuse.

Christensen was arrested in 2013 after a police search, prompted by tips from the public, turned up sexually explicit photos of toddlers on a cell phone belonging to Levi Hallett, of Sidney. According to court documents, Hallett told police he received the photos from Christensen and another woman, Kristen Gulley. As part of her plea deal, Christensen agreed to testify at Gulley's trial.

In court on Wednesday, Christensen said she was "very sorry it happened."

Before delivering the sentence, Weimer said the facts of the case were striking. While there is no doubt Hallett played a role, the judge said, a predator needs someone to give them access.

Children have a right and expectation to trust adults, Weimer added.

"That's who they look to to protect them from people like Hallett," he said.

The judge said in a pre-sentencing report, Christensen minimized her role in the events.

"You owed these children better," he said.

Christensen will be eligible for release after 7 1/2 years, with a mandatory release set for 12 1/2 years. She was also given credit for 254 days already served.

Following her imprisonment, she will be required to register as a sex offender for a term from 50 years to the rest of her life.

Christensen is currently serving a 2- to 6-year prison sentence in Colorado after pleading guilty in Logan County Court last year to sexual exploitation of a child, according to court documents.

"When somebody causes child pornography to be put into another state by their actions, that subjects them to additional liability," Cheyenne County Attorney Paul Schaub explained in May.

Christensen's prison terms in Colorado and Nebraska will be served concurrently – a stipulation of the plea deal.

Meanwhile, Gulley is facing charges of sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a child in Colorado and will appear in Cheyenne County Court once those matters are resolved. She is being held on a $300,000 bond in Colorado.

Last September, Hallett was charged in a three-count indictment by a federal grand jury. In May, Schaub said Hallett's case was transferred to federal court because he was the most culpable among the three.

"The other two played a role in assisting him in what he wanted," Schaub said.

In April, Hallett agreed to a plea deal with federal prosecutors. He pleaded guilty to production of child pornography in exchange for a dismissal of possession and receipt and distribution of child pornography charges.

Sentencing in that case is scheduled for July 23 in U.S. District Court in Lincoln.

A Sidney Police Department investigation led to a search of Hallett's apartment here after an informant reported Hallett admitted he had received nude photographs from girls aged 15, 14 and 9 on his cell phone, according to court documents.

During the search of his apartment, Hallett told police he had engaged in a sexual conversation with an adult female – Gulley – in the previous months.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Hallett said he and Gulley discussed the possibility of involving a 2-year-old in their sexual activities.

Graphic photos were later discovered on Hallett's phone of "what appears to be a toddler-aged female child."

In additional interviews, Hallett told investigators he received the photos from Christensen and Gulley. According to police, both women later admitted to taking and sending photographs of the toddler.

Hallett confessed to possessing around 40 images of underage nude children, and to taking some of the photographs himself, according to the probable cause affidavit.