Alma man sentenced for concealing son's location

LINCOLN, Neb. — An Alma man was sentenced to probation and fined $1,000 for failing to tell authorities where his son could be found.

David Sikes, 69, Alma, Nebraska, was sentenced for providing a false statement to federal authorities. U.S. Attorney Susan Lehr made the announcement following proceedings Wednesday, in federal court in Lincoln. Senior U.S. District Judge John M. Gerrard presided over the case, imposing a sentence of 36 months' probation upon Sikes. Notably, there is no provision for parole in the federal system. In addition to probation, Sikes has been ordered to pay a fine of $1,000.

The charges stem from events in January 2018 when David Sikes' son, Jeffrey Sikes, faced sentencing in the United States District Court for wire fraud offenses.

However, Jeffrey failed to appear for his sentencing, leading to the issuance of arrest warrants. Federal law enforcement authorities subsequently reached out to David Sikes multiple times in their efforts to locate Jeffrey. During these interactions, Sikes falsely claimed he was unaware of his son's whereabouts.

However, investigations revealed that David was well aware of Jeffrey's location, as the latter was living as a fugitive with his family in Alabama. David even visited Jeffrey in Alabama on at least one occasion before Jeffrey's eventual arrest for additional federal crimes. Further inquiries uncovered financial support provided by David to Jeffrey during his time as a fugitive.

The investigation into this case was conducted by the FBI.