Omaha Man Sentenced to 135 Months for Sex Trafficking of a Minor

United States Attorney Jan Sharp announced that Lance Harper, 31, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced today in federal court in Omaha for sex trafficking of a minor. United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Harper to 135 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal prison system. After his release from prison, Harper will serve 5 years of supervised release and will be required to register as a sex offender.

Federal agents began investigating in September 2020, after two Omaha foster children went missing from their foster home. The investigation showed that Harper transported one of the minors to Norfolk, Nebraska, where the minor engaged in sex with an adult male for money and Harper received some of the money from the sex sale.

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 Homeland Security Investigations, the Omaha Police Department, and the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office.