After being arrested and charged with virtually any crime, it can be understandable for a Nebraska resident to feel very worried and wonder whether or not they will be able to be treated fairly during the defense process. When a charge involves a sex crime and a minor, the worries are certainly understandable. However, the criminal justice system is set up to ensure that defendants have the ability to make sure their rights are protected at every step of the way.
In 2016, a man who was a teacher at a middle school in Omaha as well as a softball coach found himself facing multiple sex crime charges. He was charged with child sexual assault. It is not known if the charges involved a person who had been a student at the school or a player on a team that he coached or someone else.
The laws in Nebraska identify 16 as the age of consent and in order for someone to be charged with child sexual assault, an alleged victim would therefore have had to be 22 years old or younger. After some time, prosecutors were unable to prove that the alleged victim in this case was actually younger than 16 so the charges were dropped. New charges have been issued and include sexual assault by electronic device and child enticement among others. It was not clarified if the new charges involve the same person as the original charges or not.
Defendants who may feel that they have no ability to defend themselves against criminal charges may find it helpful to consult with an experience attorney to learn what optoins they may actually have.
Source: Lincoln Journal Star, "Child sex assault charges dropped against teacher," June 15, 2017