Officials with the U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa report a Pottawattamie County man was arrested by agents with the FBI, Tuesday in Texas, in connection with sex trafficking and other offenses. 68-Year old Richard John Massey, of Council Bluffs, was arrested on charges of sex trafficking of a minor, coercion and enticement of a minor, and traveling in interstate commerce to facilitate prostitution.

His arrest followed an indictment on these charges returned by a federal grand jury sitting in the Southern District of Iowa on October 30, 2018. The offenses are alleged to have occurred between October 2017 and April 26, 2018.

Massey was arrested at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport as he entered the United States on a flight originating from Mexico. On November 7, 2018, Massey made an initial appearance before a United States Magistrate Judge in Dallas, Texas, and was ordered to appear in the Southern District of Iowa on a subsequent date. Massey remains in custody pending proceedings in the Southern District of Iowa.

Authorities stressed that an Indictment is merely an accusation, and that Massey is presumed innocent unless he is proven guilty. The matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Council Bluffs Police Department, and the Omaha Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.