Former Nebraska police officer sentenced to decades in prison on child pornography charges

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A former Nebraska police officer was sentenced early this month for sexually abusing multiple young children.

On Sept. 11, 34-year-old Jordan Vaughn — of Scribner, Nebraska — got 60 years in a federal prison for two counts of production of child pornography.

After Vaughn is released, he will serve a life term of supervised release.

The case against Vaughn started when he was caught sending pictures of his genitals to a minor.

Further investigation showed that Vaughn was sexually abusing multiple young children — aged 12 and younger — and keeping digital evidence of the assaults.

Vaughn would additionally sexually assault multiple victims while they were asleep.

A search of Vaughn’s phone found a large amount of child pornography in addition to the production of child pornography.

Vaughn worked at the Winnebago Police Department in late 2024 and early 2025, but was fired over the instant offenses.

“The successful investigation and prosecution of this egregious child sex offender not only ended the living nightmares of each vulnerable victim he targeted but also stripped this predator of his police badge and prevented him from carrying a weapon on the Winnebago reservation and having access to more children in the line of duty,” said U.S. Attorney Lesley Woods. “The just and appropriate sentence in this case fits the outrageousness and depravity of the unthinkable crimes committed against these innocent children.”

This case was investigated by the Lincoln Police Department and the Omaha FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.

The case was part of the Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.