The Franklin child prostitution ring allegations began in June 1988 in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

and attracted significant public and political interest until late 1990, when separate state and federal

grand juries A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...

concluded that the allegations were unfounded and the ring was a "carefully crafted hoax." In 1988, authorities looked into allegedly baseless allegations that prominent citizens of Nebraska, as well as high-level U.S. politicians, were involved in a child prostitution ring. Alleged abuse victims were interviewed, who claimed that children in

foster care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family ...

were flown to the East Coast of the United States to be sexually abused at "bad parties". The claims primarily centered on Lawrence E. King Jr., who ran the now defunct Franklin Community Federal Credit Union in Omaha, Nebraska, and alleged that the ring was " a cult of devil worshipers involved in the mutilation, sacrifice and cannibalism of numerous children". Numerous

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

evolved, claiming that the alleged abuse was part of a widespread series of crimes including devil worship, cannibalism, drug trafficking, and

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

arms dealing. The Nebraska State Foster Care Review Board submitted the results of a two-year investigation into the alleged physical and sexual abuse of foster children to the executive board of the

Nebraska Legislature The Nebraska Legislature (also called the Unicameral) is the legislature of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln. With 49 members, known as "senators", the Nebraska Legislature is the sm ...

, who were investigating reports of child sexual abuse linked to the credit union. After investigation, a grand jury in Douglas County, where Omaha, Nebraska is situated, determined the abuse allegations were baseless, describing them as a "carefully crafted hoax" and indicting two of the original accusers on

perjury Perjury (also known as foreswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an inst ...

charges. The grand jury suspected that the false stories originated from a fired employee of Boys Town, who might have "fueled the fire of rumor and innuendo" because of personal grudges. A federal grand jury also concluded that the abuse allegations were unfounded and indicted 21-year-old Alisha Owen, an alleged victim, on eight counts of perjury. Owen served years in prison. Separately, the federal grand jury indicted multiple officers of the credit union for embezzlement of funds, including King.

References

{{satanic ritual abuse 1988 crimes in the United States 1988 hoaxes 1988 in Nebraska Child sexual abuse in the United States Conspiracy theories in the United States Crime in Omaha, Nebraska False allegations of sex crimes Hoaxes in the United States Politics of Nebraska Satanic ritual abuse hysteria in the United States