An Omaha firefighter already accused of secretly recording a teenage girl is now facing some of the most serious charges in Nebraska's criminal code: sexual assault of a minor and sex trafficking of a minor. Brandon Wilson, who has worked as an Omaha firefighter, faces the new charges in a case prosecutors say involved a victim who was between 12 and 15 years old at the time of the alleged incidents.
According to KETV, prosecutors said all of the incidents happened between 2017 and 2020. The station reported that Wilson, an Omaha firefighter accused of multiple felonies in a child pornography case, is now facing charges in a separate case related to sexual assault of a child, with the new counts of sexual assault of a minor and sex trafficking of a minor layered on top of the earlier allegations.
The new charges follow Wilson's arrest in late September on a set of felony counts tied to allegations that he secretly recorded a teenage girl. The fire department placed Wilson on administrative leave in late September after that arrest, the same report notes, and he remained on leave as the new case developed.
Conflicting Accounts of the Original Charges
Exactly what Wilson was originally charged with depends on which outlet's account you read. Per the same KETV report, Wilson was previously charged with manufacturing child pornography and four counts of taping or photographing a minor without their consent. A separate account from the station's earlier coverage describes the arrest in different terms.
3 News Now reported that Wilson, 55, was arrested on four counts of possessing child pornography and four counts of unlawfully photographing someone without consent, a description that diverges from the manufacturing allegation cited elsewhere. The station's reporting also noted that Wilson's arrest came on September 24 on multiple felony charges stemming from the alleged hidden-camera recordings.
The Lincoln Journal Star reported that a Douglas County prosecutor said the firefighter allegedly recorded the girl in her bathroom and bedroom between 2017 and 2020, aligning with the broader timeframe prosecutors have cited for the case. 3 News Now also reported that a judge set Wilson's bond at $400,000 and ordered him to have no contact with the victim following the earlier arrest.
An Active Firefighter Placed on Leave
3 News Now's reporting on the original arrest noted that Omaha Fire confirmed Wilson was an active employee who had been placed on leave while police investigated, a status that KETV's later report indicates continued once the new charges were filed.
Under Nebraska law, sex trafficking of a minor is classified as a Class IB felony, according to the Nebraska Legislature's statutes. That classification places the new charge among the state's most serious criminal offenses, reflecting the gravity prosecutors have assigned to the case as it has expanded from the original hidden-camera allegations to claims of sexual assault and trafficking involving a child.
