Lancaster County, NE
Categories:
Tactics Used |
|
|---|---|
| Auto Seizure | ✓ |
| Buyer Arrests | ✓ |
| Cameras | ✓ |
| Community Service | ✓ |
| Employment Loss | ✓ |
| Identity Disclosure | ✓ |
| IT Based Tactics | ✓ |
| John School | ✓ |
| Letters | ✓ |
| License Suspension | ✓ |
| Neighborhood Action | ✓ |
| Public Education | ✓ |
| Reverse Stings | ✓ |
| SOAP Orders | ✓ |
| Web Stings | ✓ |
Lancaster County is located in eastern Nebraska, near Omaha. Its population is roughly 325,000 residents, most residing within the city of Lincoln, the state capital and government seat of the county. Prostitution has been a persistent and visible problem in the area, and the sex trafficking of minors is well documented. Robberies of sex buyers have also been documented. In recent years, community members have complained to local law enforcement about an increase in public solicitation for prostitution.
To address these issues, the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office and the Lincoln Police Department often collaborate, and have incorporated the use of street-level and web-based reverse stings to identify and apprehend sex buyers. “Traditional” reversals (i.e., those using a female undercover officer as a decoy on city streets) have been conducted since at least 2004, if not earlier. The names of those arrested in stings are routinely publicized in press. For example, in 2015, law enforcement conducted two larger-scale reverse stings in September and December in Lincoln, arresting 23 sex buyers in the process. The logistical details of both operations– specifically, whether they were conducted at street level or using web-based advertisements– were not disclosed, although the identities of arrestees were publicized in press.
In 2018, the Lancaster County Sheriff’s department made four arrests during a reverse sting. Eight deputies, three posing as prostituted women, conducted the operation from 2PM to midnight on one night at an undisclosed West Lincoln business. Each sex buyer was charged with solicitation of prostitution, and their identities were disclosed in news releases. Additional details about the sting were withheld to protect the Sheriff Department’s ongoing investigations.
Sex buyers have been arrested in the county as the result of other investigations as well, rather than reverse stings. For example, in February 2021 a man was arrested following a child enticement investigation, and held in the Lancaster County Jail on the following charges: sex trafficking of a minor, sexual assault of a child, violation of the sex offender registry act, soliciting prostitution, and child abuse. The investigation began after investigators received information that the suspect was contacting young females on various online chat rooms “with the express purpose of providing marijuana for sex.” Three victims were identified — ages 14, 15, and 16 years old. The man was a registered sex offender based upon a conviction of sexual assault of a minor in Dodge County in 2005.
Key Partners
- Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office
- Lincoln Police Department
Key Sources
Reverse Stings, Identity Disclosure:
- “Names Released of Suspects Arrested in Lincoln for Human Trafficking,” KOLN-TV 10, December 14 2015.
- “Nine Arrested in Lincoln Prostitution Sting,” NBC/KSNB-TV 4, December 14 2015.
- “Ten Arrested in Police Sting,” KLIN-AM 1400, December 14 2015.
- “Lincoln Teacher, Attorney among Those Arrested in Sex-Trafficking Operation,” Lincoln Journal Star, August 10 2016.
Street-Level Reverse Stings, Identity Disclosure:
- “From the Blotter; Police Arrest Six for Prostitution or Pandering,” Lincoln Journal Star, August 1 2004.
- “Men Arrested in Prostitution Sting,” Lincoln Journal Star, March 13 2006.
- “Man Arrested in Prostitution Sting,” Lincoln Journal Star, October 8 2006.
- “Undercover Officers Lead to 5 Pandering Arrests,” Lincoln Journal Star, December 3 2006.
- “Police Conduct Prostitution Sting,” Lincoln Journal Star, December 22 2006.
- “Prostitution Sting Trial Scheduled for Monday,” Lincoln Journal Star, March 26 2007.
- “Six Arrested in Prostitution Sting,” Lincoln Journal Star, April 22 2007.
- “Police Arrest Alleged Prostitute, Panderer,” Lincoln Journal Star, May 1 2007.
- “Four Arrested in Sex Sting,” Lincoln Journal Star, October 19 2007.
- “3 Accused in Prostitution Sting Enter Guilty Pleas,” Lincoln Journal Star, October 21 2007.
- “Police Arrest 3 Pandering Suspects,” Lincoln Journal Star, May 9 2008.
- “4 Charged with Soliciting Prostitution,” Lincoln Journal Star, June 17 2008.
- “5 Men Accused of Soliciting Prostitution,” Lincoln Journal Star, June 29 2008.
- “Three Face Charges after Prostitution Sting,” Lincoln Journal Star, July 15 2008.
- “Trooper among 7 Arrested in Prostitution Sting,” Lincoln Journal Star, August 24 2008.
- “Monroe Man Arrested for Soliciting Prostitution,” Lincoln Journal Star, April 22 2009.
- “Police: 3 Lincoln Men Solicited Prostitution,” Lincoln Journal Star, June 22 2009.
- “National Sex Trafficking Sting Nets 16 Arrests in Lincoln,” Lincoln Journal Star, September 3 2015.
- http://www.klin.com/four-lincoln-men-arrested-in-reverse-prostitution-sting (2018)
Web-Based Reverse Stings, Identity Disclosure:
- “Two Arrests in Craig’s List Prostitution Sting,” ABC/KLKN-TV 8.
- “Nebraska City Businessman Arrested in Super Bowl Sex Sting,” KWBE-AM 1450, February 10 2016.
Sex Buyer Arrest, Identity Disclosure:
Neighborhood Action:
Sex Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation in the Area:
- “Runaway Recounts Life of Prostitution,” Omaha World-Herald, December 7 1984.
- “Lincoln Man Enters No Contest Pleas,” Lincoln Journal Star, January 20 2009.
- “For Pimping Mom, Parole Can’t Come Until Age 87,” Lincoln Journal Star, February 8 2013.
- “Prison for Man Caught with Photos of Prostituted 14-Year-Old,” Lincoln Journal Star, February 28 2013.
- “‘I Have Regrets’ Says Man Sentenced in Child Sex Case,” Lincoln Journal Star, April 17 2013.
- “Clarks Man Who Paid for Sex with Woman and Her Daughter Goes to Prison,” Lincoln Journal Star, December 23 2013.
- “Lincoln Man Accused of Soliciting Prostitution from Teen,” Lincoln Journal Star, May 12 2015.
Background on Prostitution in the Area:
- “Lincoln Police Cite Two Women in Prostitution Sting,” Lincoln Journal Star, July 31 1996.
- “From the Blotter; Prostitution Suspect Arrested,” Lincoln Journal Star, June 9 2001.
- “Police Arrest Woman for Prostitution,” Lincoln Journal Star, September 29 2006.
- “Prostitution Arrest Made in Lincoln High Parking Lot,” Lincoln Journal Star, June 29 2007.
- “Craigslist Used in Prostitution Arrest,” Lincoln Journal Star, August 14 2007.
- “Woman Arrested after Investigator Answers Ad,” Lincoln Journal Star, November 29 2007.
- “Police Struggle with Escort Enforcement,” Lincoln Journal Star, March 21 2008.
- “Woman Allegedly Propositioned Officer,” Lincoln Journal Star, June 22 2009.
- “Two Lincoln Women Arrested for Prostitution,” Lincoln Journal Star, November 20 2010.
- “Woman Arrested on Prostitution Charge,” Lincoln Journal Star, February 22 2012.
- “Police, FBI Nab Seven in Prostitution Operation,” Lincoln Journal Star, July 29 2013.
Documented Violence Against Individuals Engaged in Prostitution in the Area:
- “Lincoln Robbery Call Turns into Prostitution Arrest,” Lincoln Journal Star, August 3 2010.
| State | Nebraska |
| Type | County |
| Population | 324514 |
| Location |
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