Macy, Nebraska Man Sentenced to 120 Months for Abusive Sexual Contact

United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced that Tyrece D. Thomas, 25, of Macy, Nebraska, was sentenced on July 30, 2026, in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska, for one count of Abusive Sexual Contact. United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Thomas to 120 months' imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Thomas's release from prison, he will begin a five-year term of supervised release.

On June 8, 2020, while Victim 1 was walking home on the Omaha Nation Indian Reservation, an unknown male, later identified as Thomas, struck her in the head and took her cell phone. Thomas offered to return Victim 1's cell phone if she had sex with him. When Victim 1 refused and attempted to walk away, Thomas struck Victim 1 again. Victim 1 fell to the ground and Thomas sexually assaulted her. Victim 1 did not know Thomas. Victim 1 went to the hospital after the assault and underwent a Sexual Assault Nurse Examination (SANE), during which a SANE nurse collected forensic evidence from Victim 1's body. Victim 1's SANE kit was sent to the FBI Laboratory. An FBI forensic scientist identified unknown, male DNA on swabs collected from Victim 1 during her SANE exam. The FBI submitted the male DNA to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) but received no potential matches at the time.

On October 4, 2024, the FBI Laboratory notified local FBI agents that a routine CODIS search yielded a possible DNA match between the male DNA collected from Victim 1 and a federal arrestee, Tyrece D. Thomas. The FBI obtained a search warrant and obtained a known sample of Thomas's DNA. The FBI laboratory confirmed the male DNA collected during Victim 1's SANE exam was, in fact, Tyrece D. Thomas's DNA.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Omaha Nation Law Enforcement Services.