An Omaha couple caught in a sting in Council Bluffs has been sentenced to prison on sex trafficking charges. Thirty-two-year-old Mary Crane-Horton has been sentenced to more than 17-and-a-half years in prison; 35-year-old Nate Horton has been sentenced to 14-and-a-half years in prison.
The Hortons were caught in a sting run on January 21st of last year by the Council Bluffs Police and the F-B-I. In October, the Hortons pleaded guilty of conspiracy to commit or financially benefit from sex trafficking in the Omaha/Council Bluffs metro. Prosecutors say the Hortons ran a prostitution ring and “enticed and coerced a 15-year-old girl to perform commercial sex acts on at least two occasions.”
Other young women were either assaulted or threatened by the Hortons if they failed to have sex for money. The U.S. Attorney for the southern district of Iowa says the Hortons committed “horrible acts.” The agent who is in charge of the F-B-I office which covers Iowa and Nebraska says sex trafficking of children and minors like this 15-year-old girl “is a growing problem throughout the country and locally.”