27-year-old Nebraska man who posed as high schooler sentenced to at least 85 years for sex crimes

A 27-year-old Nebraska man who posed as someone a decade younger and attended high school for more than 50 days was sentenced to at least 85 years in prison in connection with sex crimes charges, court documents show.

A Lancaster County judge sentenced Zachary Scheich last week after he pleaded no contest in July to first-degree sexual assault, attempted first-degree sexual assault, generation of child pornography — age 19 or over — and child enticement with electronic communication, according to a sentencing order and a plea agreement.

Scheich’s sentence runs a maximum of 120 years in prison, according to the order. He won’t be eligible for parole for 40 years, according to KOLN-TV of Lincoln.

At his sentencing hearing, Lancaster County Deputy County Attorney Amber Scholte said Scheich “targeted, groomed and lured” students via social media while pretending to be their peer or boyfriend, the station reported.

The public defender’s office that represented Scheich did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday night.

Scheich identified himself as “Zak Hess,” 17, and he attended two high schools in Lincoln — Northwest High School and Southeast High School — for 54 days in the 2022-23 school year, officials have said. 

He was admitted to the schools using fake documents, including a birth certificate, immunization records, a transcript and medical records, the officials said.

A spokesperson for the district where Scheich attended high school also did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Authorities began investigating Scheich in June 2023 after a concerned parent contacted the school district. Police announced his arrest in July.

Charging documents show the crimes he pleaded guilty to mostly occurred in 2022 and 2023. Several victims were under age 16, the documents show. Another was 13 or older.

One of the sexual assault charges, from 2019, involved two people whose ages are not included in the documents.

In September 2023, authorities accused a 23-year-old woman of criminal impersonation, alleging she posed as Scheich’s mother and helped him get enrolled in the schools, according to KOLN. She pleaded not guilty, and the case is ongoing.

CORRECTION (Sept. 18, 2024, 10:30 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated KOLN-TV’s network affiliation. It is a CBS affiliate, not an NBC affiliate.