Omaha Man Sentenced to Life for Sex Trafficking Minors

Acting United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Carney Turner, 42, of Omaha, Nebraska, and Julisha Biggs, 20, of Omaha, Nebraska, were sentenced today in federal court in Omaha for a conspiracy to sex traffic minors. Chief Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Turner to life imprisonment on one count of conspiracy to sex traffic minors, three counts of sex trafficking of a minor, and two counts of enticement of a minor.

Chief Judge Rossiter sentenced Biggs to 87 months’ imprisonment for her role in the sex trafficking conspiracy. There is no parole in the federal prison system. After her release from prison, Biggs will serve 5 years of supervised release and will be required to register as a sex offender.

Co-Defendant Sidney Marker is scheduled to be sentenced for her role in the conspiracy on November 14, 2022, at 10:00 AM.

Law enforcement began investigating in September 2020 after discovering electronic messages between a minor female and Turner during a separate sex trafficking investigation. The minor female was interviewed and reported that she had been sex trafficked by Turner for approximately three months and that Turner had kept money from the sex sales. In October 2020, a second minor female reported that she had been sexually assaulted by a man in a hotel room after Turner brought her to the hotel and paid her to meet with the man. In November 2020, a third minor female was reported missing from her foster home and law enforcement observed that she was being posted in online sex advertisements by a phone number associated with Turner.

Evidence uncovered by law enforcement showed that Turner, Marker, and Biggs resided together in an apartment in Ralston, Nebraska. Turner recruited, advertised, and arranged commercial sex sales for minors between approximately January 2020 and February 2021. The sex sales took place at hotels in and around Omaha, as well as at the apartment, which had been leased by Marker. At least one of the minors also stayed at the apartment for a period of time. Marker provided vehicles to transport the minors to hotels for commercial sex acts and assisted with renting hotel rooms. The minor who had been reported missing in November 2020 had been recruited by Biggs to come work for Turner.  

“Criminals, like these sentenced today, are more concerned with their own greed than the horrific circumstances they seek to expose minors to,” said Special Agent in Charge of HSI Kansas City Katherine Greer. “This sentencing should send a strong message that HSI and our law enforcement partners are committed to seeking, dismantling and bringing to justice those who seek to perpetrate sex trafficking and child exploitation crimes against minors.”

A spokesperson for the Omaha Police Department stated that they are pleased to see such strong sentences against sex trafficking. “It is important to send the message that sex trafficking will not be tolerated and the criminals who participate in it will be severely punished. The Omaha Police Department will continue to work with their federal partners to rescue the survivors of trafficking and will tirelessly pursue their traffickers.”

Acting U.S. Attorney Russell added, “I appreciate the commitment and effort of Homeland Security Investigations, the Omaha Police Department and my staff in working together on these difficult and important cases while bringing justice to those who prey and traffic upon vulnerable children.”

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.