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The Franklin child prostitution ring allegations were a series of high-profile accusations and legal actions between 1988 and 1991 surrounding an alleged child sex ring serving prominent citizens of Omaha, Nebraska, as well as high-level U.S. politicians.

The allegations centered on the actions of Lawrence E. King Jr., who ran the now defunct Franklin Community Federal Credit Union (FCFCU) in Omaha. After investigation, a Douglas County (the county seat for Omaha, Nebraska) grand jury determined the abuse allegations were baseless, describing them as a "carefully crafted hoax" and indicted two of the accusers on perjury chargers. Later, a federal grand jury also indicted one of the accusers for perjury. Alisha Owen, was convicted and served 4-1/2 years in prison.

The two grand juries

Allegations of sexual abuse first emerged in 1987 when the Nebraska Foster Care Review Board received allegations of an organized ring of child sexual abuse linked to the Franklin Community Federal Credit Union (FCFCU) which were turned over to police, the FBI and the County Attorney’s Office. Following the failure of law enforcement to act on the allegations, in December 1988, the Review Board submitted the results of it's two-year investigation into the physical and sexual abuse of foster children to the Executive Board of the Nebraska Legislature, which created the Nebraska legislative committee to investigate the charges alongside the National Credit Union Administration which had been investigating unrelated financial irregularities at the FCFCU, where King had worked for 18 years, since Novemeber. Authorities launched a probe, interviewing a number of claimed abuse victims who said that children in foster care were flown to the U.S. East Coast and were abused at "bad parties."

Two grand juries investigated the allegations. The first, a county grand jury, determined that the abuse allegations were a "carefully crafted hoax"; the grand jury also suggested that the abuse stories originated from a vindictive employee terminated by Boys Town, the famed refuge for troubled youths. A special Nebraska legislative committee assigned to investigate the allegations criticized the grand jury findings, with Nebraska Senator Loran Schmit labeling the grand jury's report "a strange document."

The second, organized through the federal judicial system, later concluded that the abuse allegations were unfounded and indicted 21 year old Alisha Owen, an alleged victim, on eight counts of perjury. The same grand jury also indicted multiple officers of the credit union, including King, for fraud and other crimes.Owen was convicted and sentenced to 9–15 years in prison.

King was eventually convicted of embezzling over $38 million from FCFCU, and served 10 years of a 15-year prison sentence. John DeCamp filed a lawsuit on behalf of Paul A. Bonaccio, one of the accusers indicted for perjury by the county grand jury, against King in civil court; when King failed to respond to the charges, Judge Warren Keith Urbom entered a default judgment for $1 million against King.

Aftermath

In 1990, based on information provided during the Franklin investigation by the Foster Care Review Board, the Nebraska Legislature enacted a number of protections for abused children including additional funding, extending the statute of limitations for child abuse and the creation of the Child Protection Unit.

Numerous conspiracy theories evolved and persist, claiming that the alleged abuse was part of a widespread series of crimes including devil worship, cannibalism, drug trafficking, CIA arms dealing and links with the first Bush Administration. Journalist Nick Bryant published a book about the Franklin allegations alleging a coverup of child abuse. Historian Philip Jenkins, in his book Moral Panic: Changing Concepts of the Child Molester in Modern America, has explored how hot topics such as the Franklin allegations, whether or not they are worthy of attention or credible on their own merits, are seized by political opportunists for their own purposes. He also described how cases such as the Franklin allegations can acquire credibility, even if they lack any credibility inherently, when reported in various media in a credulous voice.

Notes

1. Bryant's book, after being rejected by several larger and more reputable publishing houses, was published by Trine Day.

References

1. ^ Jenkins, Philip (2004). Moral Panic: Changing Concepts of the Child Molester in Modern America. Yale University Press. pp. 174–5. ISBN 978-0-300-10963-4.
2. ^ Robbins, William (December 18, 1988). "A Lurid, Mysterious Scandal Begins Taking Shape in Omaha". The New York Times. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
3. ^ Robbins, Williams (July 29, 1990). "Omaha Grand Jury Sees Hoax in Lurid Tales". The New York Times. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
4. ^ "Omaha Tales of Sexual Abuse Ruled False". The New York Times. Associated Press. September 27, 1990. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
5. ^ USA Today. August 9, 1991. p. 6A. Alisha Owen, convicted of lying to grand jury probing charges of sex and drug abuse in failure of Omaha credit union, was sentenced to 9 to 15 years in prison. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
6. ^ "The Nebraska Foster Care Review Board celebrates its first 25 years of helping to keep children safe" (PDF). Foster Care Review Board Review. Summer 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
7. ^ Robbins, William (December 25, 1988). "Nebraska Inquiry Is Given File on Sex Abuse of Foster Children". The New York Times. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
8. Santiago, Frank (February 24, 1999). "Judge makes $1 million award". The Des Moines Register.
9. Bryant, Nick. The Franklin Scandal: A Story of Powerbrokers, Child Abuse & Betrayal. Trine Day.

• Conspiracy theories
• Hoaxes in the United States
• Child sexual abuse
• Politics of Nebraska
• Crime in Omaha, Nebraska