COUNCIL BLUFFS – An Iowa woman and her mate drove a teen from Arkansas to Iowa to engage in sexual activity with the child, leading to a trip to prison.
On May 17, 2017, Trudy E. Thomsen, a 32 year-old resident of Missouri Valley, Iowa, was sentenced by Chief United States District Court Judge John A. Jarvey to 190 months in prison for transporting a minor with intent to engage in sexual activity, announced United States Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, Kevin E. VanderSchel. Thomsen will be required to serve 10 years of supervised release following her imprisonment. Thomsen pleaded guilty to the charge on September 1, 2016.
The guilty plea and sentencing resulted from an investigation into the transport of minor females from Arkansas to Missouri Valley, Iowa, to engage the minors in sexual acts. According to the plea agreement, Thomsen met a 14-year-old female while working at a group home in Arkansas. After leaving her group home job, Thomsen and her co-defendant, John Thomsen, used social media to keep in contact with a minor female and convince her, and another female minor, to come live with them in Missouri Valley, Iowa. The Thomsens traveled to Arkansas and drove the females to Missouri Valley, Iowa, where the Thomsens engaged in various sexual acts with one of the girls.
Co-defendant John Thomsen was sentenced to 235 months in prison on January 25, 2017.
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 conducted the investigation. This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
