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Press Release

Council Bluffs Man Arrested for Sex Trafficking of a Minor

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Iowa

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – On November 6, 2018, Richard John Massey, age 68, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, was arrested by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation on charges of sex trafficking of a minor, coercion and enticement of a minor, and traveling in interstate commerce to facilitate prostitution, announced United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum and FBI Special Agent In Charge Randall C. Thysse. The arrest followed an indictment on these charges returned by a federal grand jury sitting in the Southern District of Iowa on October 30, 2018. These offenses are alleged to have occurred between October 2017 and April 26, 2018.

Massey was arrested at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport as he entered the United States on a flight originating from Mexico. On November 7, 2018, Massey made an initial appearance before a United States Magistrate Judge in Dallas, Texas, and was ordered to appear in the Southern District of Iowa on a subsequent date. Massey remains in custody pending proceedings in the Southern District of Iowa.

The public is reminded that an Indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless he is proven guilty.

This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Council Bluffs Police Department, and the Omaha Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

Contact

Rachel J. Scherle
515-473-9300
Rachel.Scherle@usdoj.gov

Updated November 8, 2018

Topic
Human Trafficking