Omaha man convicted of sex trafficking sentenced to life in prison

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - An Omaha man convicted of child sex trafficking is headed to prison for the rest of his life.

Rolando Midder, 44, was sentenced in Omaha Friday for sex trafficking of a minor and two counts of production of child pornography.

Midder had been arrested last year at an Omaha hotel where he lived. Evidence shown at a June trial found Midder invited a homeless juvenile female to live with him in February of 2022. He then began advertising her online and coordinated with those who answered the ad to set up times, locations, and prices for commercial sex acts with the victim.

The victim was found to be extremely malnourished and covered in bruises, burns, and scars when she was rescued by law enforcement. She told them Midder had raped her, in addition to being physically abused. She said she was afraid Midder would kill her if he found out she spoke with authorities.

A search warrant was obtained for Midder’s phone after he was arrested. Advertisements and conversations with those who answered were found, along with videos Midder shot of himself raping the victim.

Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement had outside help from the public observing the victim with Midder on multiple occasions and contacted law enforcement out of concern for her safety.

Chief Judge Robert Rossiter, Jr. said in response to Midder’s claim he was “helping people” that he believed that was “the first step in taking advantage of them,” and described this type of crime as “a world most people don’t know exists.”

In addition to the life sentence on the sex trafficking charge, Midder was additionally sentenced to the statutory maximum of 30 years on each of the child porn production counts.