Seward woman gets 15 years for helping sex traffic minors near Omaha

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A Seward woman and former foster care specialist will serve over a decade in prison for helping sex-traffic minors, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Sidney Marker, 28, was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison for a conspiracy to sex-traffic minors.

Law enforcement began an investigation in September 2020 after finding messages between a minor female and Carney Turner, now 42, of Omaha.

The female told authorities that she had been trafficked by Turner for about three months, according to the attorney’s office.

Turner had kept the profits for himself, the attorney’s office said.

A month later, another minor female told authorities that she had been sexually assaulted by a man in a hotel room.

Turner paid her to meet with the man and even brought her to the hotel, according to the attorney’s office.

In November 2020, a third female was reported missing from her foster home.

Authorities later discovered that she had been used in online sex advertisements, which included a phone number associated with Turner.

Evidence showed that Marker, who at the time was working in a correctional facility as a caseworker, met with Turner while he was serving a prison sentence.

Marker went on to work as a foster care specialist and a family support specialist, the attorney’s office said.

Once Tuner was released from prison, Marker and Turner lived together in a Ralston apartment.

Julisha Biggs, now 20, also stayed in the apartment.

From January 2020 to February 2021, Turner recruited, advertised and arranged sex sales for minors, the attorney’s office said.

One minor was housed in the apartment, which was leased by Marker, for “a period of time,” according to the attorney’s office.

Several sex transactions took place at the apartment and at hotels in and around Omaha.

In addition to leasing the apartment, Marker provided vehicles used to take minors to hotels and helped pay for those hotel rooms, the attorney’s office said.

Turner was sentenced last week to life in prison on several charges, including three counts of sex trafficking a minor.

Chief Judge Robert Rossiter Jr. also sentenced Biggs to 87 months in prison for her role in the conspiracy, the attorney’s office said.

There is no parole in the federal prison system.

Marker will serve five years of supervised release and will be required to register as a sex offender once released from prison.