Seward County is a county of about 18,000 residents in southeastern Nebraska, just west of Lincoln. Its county seat is Seward. Child sex trafficking and the creation of child sexual abuse materials have been documented in the county. At least one opportunistic sex buyer arrest has occurred.

In March 2023, a Seward County man was sentenced to more than 18 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to producing child pornography (child sexual abuse materials). The man had been indicted on four counts of producing child pornography and one count of knowingly receiving the material, but pleaded guilty to two counts of production in exchange for prosecutors dismissing the other three charges. As part of the federal plea deal, pending state charges in Butler County that alleged sex trafficking of a minor, attempted creation/distribution of child pornography, and intentional child abuse were also dismissed. The investigation began in May 2021 when East Butler Public Schools intercepted an email sent to a 16-year-old male student asking questions about the student’s sexual preferences and other explicit topics, as well as requesting explicit photos in exchange for money. The man had sent these surveys to multiple underaged boys, telling the victims he had a friend named “Gavin” who wrote online sex stories and wanted to use information from the victims in the stories. The man posed as “Gavin” and sent the victims detailed surveys with questions about their sexual activities, proclivities, and genitalia. The email survey indicated the victims would be paid for responding and gave them an option to send sexually explicit photos for more money. The man then convinced the victims that his home in Seward County was a safe place to take videos and photos for “Gavin.” He sexually abused some of the victims at his home and recorded the activity using surveillance cameras. Investigators executed multiple search warrants on the man’s home and electronic devices in 2021. They were able to positively identity four males, aged 16 to 17, who provided the man with sexually explicit images or videos. His identity was released to the press.