Lifetime sex offender tried abducting 9-year-old girl in Waverly, deputy says

WAVERLY, Neb. (KLKN) – A man was arrested Tuesday after trying to abduct a child in Waverly, the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office says.

Around 1:30 p.m., deputies were sent to the area of 141st and Kenilworth streets on a report of an attempted child abduction.

A 9-year-old girl reported that a man in a vehicle, later identified as 66-year-old Ricky Muldoon of Lincoln, was circling her while she was riding her bicycle.

Chief Deputy Ben Houchin said Muldoon, a lifetime registered sex offender in Nebraska, flashed money toward the girl as he drove by.

Muldoon then stopped the car and opened the trunk.  He asked the girl to come over and look inside, according to Houchin.

She “got really scared” and rushed back to her home, Houchin said.  Her mother then called authorities.

“The child did exactly what she should have done,” Houchin said.  “She trusted her feelings and instincts, fled the area and got help.”

During an investigation, deputies identified Muldoon as the suspect.

He was arrested on suspicion of child enticement.  Houchin said Muldoon has been arrested “multiple times on sex offenses against children.”

“He had no reason to be in Waverly,” Houchin said.

Chris Buchholz lives in a nearby neighborhood and was shocked to hear what happened.

“This is hometown Nebraska, you know,” he said. “Everything’s simple. We don’t have problems like that. You don’t expect problems like that, and that’s one of the most disturbing things to have happened.”

The superintendent of Waverly Public Schools, Cory Worrell, was happy to hear that the girl’s parents talked about stranger danger.

“Have those discussions with your students, with your kids, related to what happens if you are approached by a stranger,” he said. “If a stranger approaches a child and says, ‘Hey, your mom and dad said this,’ I would say, keep walking, say no and find the nearest adult to tell.”