Rotary Coalition on Human Trafficking

Presentation: Rotary District 5650 is helping combat human trafficking. O'Meara will explain what Rotarians are doing to help with this effort.

Speaker Bio: Stephen Patrick O’Meara
Stephen Patrick O’Meara is currently a semi-retired graduate of the Creighton University School of Law (1973), practicing law for 45 years in Iowa and Nebraska, including private practice in western Iowa, Des Moines, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska. In public service, Stephen served: with the Iowa Attorney General’s Office; as a county attorney in southwest Iowa (10 years); as an Assistant United States Attorney in Iowa and Nebraska (25 years), including, carrying a major felonies case load and, among other positions, serving variously as interim United States Attorney, First Assistant U. S. Attorney, Criminal Division Chief, and Senior Litigation Counsel for the Southern District of Iowa, and as the Supervisory Assistant U. S. Attorney for the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force for the District of Nebraska; and with the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office. He has led or substantially participated in the formation and operation of six major state or federal task forces variously engaged in enforcement regarding child abuse-neglect, drugs-violent crime, gangs, complex white collar crime, terrorism, and human trafficking-child exploitation. Since 2007, he has worked against human trafficking, including serving for about 5 years as the primary federal prosecutor for the FBI-led Omaha Child Exploitation Task Force (OCETF), and subsequently for the Nebraska Attorney General as a founder and coordinator of the Nebraska Human Trafficking Task Force, including authoring the 70-page Nebraska anti-human trafficking strategic plan. He is currently a member of the board of directors of the state-wide Iowa Network Against Human Trafficking and Slavery, and a resource person for, and past president and board member of the Omaha-based Coalition On Human Trafficking, Inc.

Relative to his work regarding human trafficking, Stephen has been credited on behalf of OCETF with “making law” with the case of United States v. Johnelle Lewis Bell; prosecuting the major Iowa pornography case of United States v. Dennis Seaborn Jones, which included a pediatrician molesting a five year old girl, using a hidden camera to photograph undressed minor children, and possessing the largest collection of pornography in Iowa history; and, in private practice, working on a major Omaha-based “TOR Network” pornography case, which involved approximately 8,300 members nationally and a large array of child pornography.

In addition to his study of law at Creighton University, Stephen did graduate study (no degree) in social work at the University of Iowa, and graduate study (no degree) in public administration at Drake University, and served as the Executive Assistant to the Commissioner of the (then) Iowa Department of Social Services – all to enhance his work in public law. While serving in other positions, Stephen also taught as an adjunct instructor in law school, various undergraduate colleges, the United States Department of Justice National Advocacy Center, and has been a long-time public speaker on various public issues. He has also authored a law review article for the Creighton University Law Review (April 1993) regarding electronic surveillance.

Stephen has been awarded local, state and national recognition for his work, including, among others: the National Association of Social Workers Iowa Citizen of the Year Award (1983) for work regarding children; the Federal District of Nebraska LECC Award (1989) for work in helping establish a multi-agency anti-gang/anti-drug effort in Nebraska; a United States Department of Justice Outstanding Service Award (1990); a formal commendation from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (1998) for his work for the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force in Iowa and elsewhere; and the Servant Leader Award by the Servants of Mary Order of Catholic Sisters (2017), for his anti-human trafficking work.

Stephen has also been active in church and civic matters, including leadership in forming and operating non-profit corporations and other programs in Iowa or Nebraska for adult sports, youth soccer, faith-based youth education and social justice activities, and faith-based adult education and social justice activities.