Omaha Man Convicted of Child Enticement

Acting United States Attorney Jan Sharp announced that James Joiner, 48, of Omaha, Nebraska, was found guilty on March 18, 2021, following a two-day jury trial in federal court for Attempted Enticement of a Minor. United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher scheduled Joiner’s sentencing for June 16, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. Joiner faces up to life in prison, with a mandatory minimum of ten years. Joiner remains detained pending sentencing.

In March 2020, Joiner responded to an online prostitution advertisement by texting the phone number listed in the ad. An undercover law enforcement officer purporting to be a 15-year-old female responded to Joiner’s texts. Joiner made arrangements to meet the 15-year-old female at a gas station in Omaha, offering to pay the female and buy her an iTunes gift card. When Joiner arrived at the gas station, he was detained by law enforcement. Joiner admitted to answering the prostitution ad and texting with what he believed to be a 15-year-old female, but testified that he intended to try to talk the female into doing some house cleaning work for him as an alternative way to make money.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case was investigated by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the Omaha FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.