Scribner Man Sentenced to 60 Years for Two Counts of Production of Child Pornography

United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced that Jordan Vaughn, 34, of Scribner, Nebraska, was sentenced on September 11, 2025, in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska, for two counts of production of child pornography. United States District Judge Susan M. Bazis sentenced Vaughn to 360 months on each count of conviction and ordered the sentences to run consecutively to one another, for a total of 720 months' imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Vaughn is released from prison, he will begin a life term of supervised release.

The case began when it was discovered Vaughn had been sending images of his genitals to a minor child. Further investigation identified that Vaughn was sexually abusing multiple young children, aged 12 and younger, and preserving digital evidence of the assaults. Vaughn would additionally sexually assault one or more of his victims while the victims were asleep. A search of Vaughn's phone located a large amount of child pornography in addition to evidence of production of child pornography. Vaughn worked at the Winnebago Police Department in Winnebago, Nebraska in late 2024 and early 2025 but was terminated over the instant offenses.

United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods said in response to the conviction and judgment: "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. 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 brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorney's Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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