Omaha Man Sentenced to 45 Years in Prison for Sex Trafficking a Minor

United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Dalonte Foard, 25, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced today in federal court in Omaha for conspiracy to sex traffic a minor and sex trafficking of a minor. United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Foard to 540 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal prison system. After his release from prison, Foard will be on supervised release for life and will be required to register as a sex offender.

In January, Foard was found guilty after a four-day jury trial. The evidence at trial showed that in September 2020 two Omaha foster children went missing from their foster home. Foard had picked up the two girls, aged 16 and 17, and driven them to a hotel where co-defendant Thomas Holbert posted online advertisements promoting the minors for commercial sex acts. The following morning, Foard sexually assaulted one of the minors to “break her in” and then posted a new online commercial sex advertisement for her. A man responding to Foard’s ad came to the hotel and Foard waited on the stairs in the hallway while the man paid $60 to engage in a sex act with the victim. After the man left, Foard took $50 of the $60 paid to the victim.

A spokesperson for the Omaha Police Department (OPD) said that OPD is pleased to see such a strong sentence for sex trafficking. OPD and its federal partners will continue to work together to pursue traffickers and bring them to justice.

“It is our hope that today’s sentencing will send a strong message to all of those who want to line their pockets through the sexual exploitation of children,” said acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Kansas City Shawn Gibson. “These individuals and their associated criminal organizations have been put on notice. We, alongside our partners at the Omaha Police Department, are doing everything possible to disrupt and dismantle the greedy criminal networks you’ve established, and will continue protect the children in our community from harm.”

“Swift prosecution and lengthy prison terms for persons engaged in sex trafficking is a high priority of law enforcement and the United States Attorney’s Office,” Russell said. “The successful prosecution in this case is a direct result of the excellent collaboration between federal, state, and local law enforcement determined to protect the citizens of Nebraska. The United States Attorney’s Office applauds the efforts of Homeland Security Investigations, the Omaha Police Department, and the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office in bringing this group to justice.”

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.