The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports a Harrison County man was sentenced Wednesday to prison for sex trafficking minors. 47-year old John F. Thomsen, of Missouri Valley, was sentenced to nearly 19 1/2 years in prison for coercion and enticement of a minor for sex, and for transporting a minor with intent to engage in sexual activity. Thomsen will also be required to serve 15 years of supervised release after his prison term.

Thomsen pleaded guilty to the two counts on September 1st, 2016. The guilty pleas and sentencing were the result of an investigation into the transportation of minor females from Arkansas to Missouri Valley, so the minors could engage in sexual acts. The investigation showed Thomsen had met a 14-year-old female while working at a group home in Arkansas. After leaving his group home employment, Thomsen used social media to keep in contact with the minor female and convince her to live with him, and his wife, Trudy Thomsen, in Missouri Valley.

The Thomsens traveled to Arkansas and drove the minor to Missouri Valley, Iowa, where the Thomsens engaged in various sexual acts with the girl. After the minor was returned to the group home, John Thomsen again contacted her via social media and arranged to have her, and a second minor female, transported back to Missouri Valley, for sexual activities.

Co-defendant Trudy Thomsen is pending sentencing in the Southern District of Iowa. The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Task Force, Arkansas State Police, Missouri Valley Police Department, Council Bluffs Police Department, Omaha Police Department, La Vista Police Department, and the Harrison County Attorney’s Office. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.