Cody Holum of Doniphan was sentenced in February 2025 to 80 to 160 years in prison for convictions on four counts of first-degree assault and one count of human trafficking, according to the Nebraska Attorney General's website. (Carol Bryant, Central Nebraska Today)
GRAND ISLAND – A five-hour hearing occurred Wednesday, Feb. 7, in Hall County District Court concerning a motion to transfer a Doniphan teenager’s case to juvenile court.
Cody Holum, 17, of Doniphan faces 17 felony charges including human trafficking of a minor, human trafficking, and first-degree sexual assault. Holum originally faced 48 charges, but 31 of those charges were set aside Jan. 30 after his attorney, Deputy Hall County Public Defender Vicky Kenney, filed a motion to quash numerous charges.
Hall County Attorney Marty Klein, who is prosecuting the case, said the two attorneys have until Feb. 16 to file briefs with Hall County District Judge Andrew Butler. Butler will then decide whether to transfer the case to juvenile court.
Holum is charged with 10 counts of human trafficking of a minor (Class IB felony), 3 counts of human trafficking (Class II felony), and 4 counts of first-degree sexual assault (Class II felony). A Class IB felony is punishable by 20 years to life In prison. A Class II felony is punishable by up to 50 years in prison.
Bond for Holum is set at 10 percent of $500,000. Holum appeared in court in a jail uniform, escorted by Hall County jail staff.
The human trafficking of a minor charges involve nine minors, who are identified by their initials in court records. The incidents for the 17 charges occurred between July 17, 2020, and Oct. 6, 2023. An arrest warrant was issued Dec. 23, 2023, and is sealed, according to court files. Klein said the search warrant affidavit and list of items seized is also sealed, because he is trying to protect the identity of the victims. The case surfaced this fall after reports were made to Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and a Doniphan school employee.
Hall County Sheriff’s Investigator Travis Sturgill said he went through “all the Instagram accounts” and reviewed cell phone records and IP addresses. They were traced to Cody Holum’s phone number or his parents’ address. Nude photos had been sent to Holum on a fake Instagram account. Photos were also posted in a Reddit (social media platform) account. One victim was told “she had to do whatever he said.” He then described a sexually explicit act he wanted to see performed.
On another occasion, a victim was contacted and told there was a 40-year-old man outside her house. He wanted to come inside and perform sexual acts with her. If she didn’t, he said he would kill her.
Sturgill said that when a search warrant was served at Holum’s home, items seized included two cell phones and a computer tablet belonging to him.
In answering questions from Kenney, Sturgill said that a mother had told a Doniphan school employee that her daughter had sent nude photos of herself to Holum.
Grand Island Police Investigator Cayla Larkins was the next to testify. She said she was asked by the Sheriff’s Department to assist in the investigation because of her background in computer and social media crimes. Larkins said that eight Google accounts had been logged into from one of Holum’s electronic devices. She used forensic software to analyze the Google accounts, which were traced to Holum. Thousands of photos of nude juveniles were found on electronic devices. Multiple social media accounts were used. Search warrants were submitted to various social media accounts to get further information. Larkins said she also examined videos found on the electronic devices. One video showed Holum and a victim engaging in sexual acts in her bedroom.
Kenney then questioned Larkins. Larkins said there were two cell phones that were seized: a Samsung phone and a Motorola phone. There were eight Google accounts on the Samsung phone associated with Holum. Larkins said she used software called Magnet Axiom to analyze various electronic files.
Holum also had a “Grindr” social media account. Larkins reviewed “Grindr” data. She said there were a significant number of messages, including ones discussing meeting and engaging in sexual acts.
Klein asked Investigator Sturgill to testify again. Sturgill said there was a Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services case that was investigated regarding Holum when he was 12 years old. The case also involved a 10-year-old boy. What occurred involving the two boys is too sexually descriptive to include in this article. Sturgill said that nothing criminal had been involved in the investigation.
Juvenile Probation Officer Michael VanDerslice was the next to testify. He said he had experience working with juveniles who were involved in sexually-related cases. The goal of working with the youth is rehabilitation, VanDerslice said.
Klein asked VanDerslice if that is a “long process.”
VanDerslice responded, “It can be.”
The juvenile probation officer said that some youth with sex-related offenses are treated at an inpatient psychological residential treatment center. He said there are two such centers in Nebraska and others in other states. The length of treatment averages six to nine months, and ongoing therapy after that is recommended. VanDerslice said he had not checked to see if Holum was involved in the juvenile probation system.
Stephanie Smith, interim clerk magistrate for Hall County Court, was the next to testify. Klein asked her a series of questions concerning how long it took to get various hearings scheduled in the juvenile court system. For instance, Smith said it currently would take six to eight weeks before a first appearance in juvenile court was scheduled. Holum turns 18 in March and is under jurisdiction of the juvenile court until he turns 19. The purpose of Klein’s questioning was to illustrate how long it took to schedule various hearings within the juvenile court system.
Kerry Alfrey of Grand Island is a licensed independent mental health practitioner. She said she is a certified sex offense treatment specialist. Alfrey said that 99 percent of her caseload is working with sexual offenders. Klein had provided her with documents concerning Holum’s case and also “Grindr” social media communications. Alfrey does evaluations of youth in the juvenile court system.
When Klein asked Alfrey about Holum’s case, she responded, “It’s more extensive than what I typically see.” She said she would recommend for Holum’s case that he go to a psychological residential treatment center “for the safety of the community.” Alfrey said that her recommendation was based on the documents that Klein had provided. She said that the average stay in a residential center was six to nine months, but that she has known of a juvenile who was in treatment a little more than one year.
Alfrey told Kenney that Klein had given her approximately 30 to 50 pages concerning Holum’s case, plus an unknown number of pages concerning Holum’s “Grindr” account. Alfrey noted on the “Grindr” account that Holum lied about his age. On another occasion, Holum portrayed himself as a representative of “Reddit,” another social medial platform.
Alfrey said typically in a juvenile sex-offense case, “there are one or two victims.”
Klein asked Alfrey if sexual assault is a violent crime. Her response was “yes.”
Klein asked Alfrey if Holum could be rehabilitated in the approximate 13 months before he turns 19. Alfrey said she would lean toward saying “no.”
The first part of the hearing lasted from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. After court was dismissed for a one-hour lunch break, Klein responded to questions from media.
Klein was asked why he wanted to see the case remain in Hall County District Court.
“I feel that’s the appropriate venue for the offenses committed by this defendant,” Klein said. He said that not all of the victims are from Doniphan. He declined answering questions about how the charges involved human trafficking.
There was a significant amount of testimony during the hearing that was too sexually graphic to include in this article. The hearing continued for approximately one hour after the lunch break. I was unable to attend the hearing after lunch because of another appointment.
