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A 27-year-old Nebraska man was sentenced to between 85 and 120 years in prison for posing as a high schooler to prey on teenage girls.
Zachary Scheich used the alias “Zach Hess” to commit his crimes, police said, and re-enrolled at Lincoln Southeast High School in Nebraska, which he graduated from in 2015.
Jurors found Scheich sexually assaulted more than a dozen girls, some as young as 13, The Washington Post reported. With his height, 5’4, he managed to fit in with the students at the school.
He was convicted of sexual assault, child enticement with electronic communication and generating sexually explicit images of children.
Authorities said his scheme lasted for two years and he created an elaborate backstory to get into the institution. He also provided the school with a birth certificate, high school transcript, immunization records and a physical from a clinic.
“All of those appear to be fraudulent,” said Matt Larson, who served as the associate superintendent for educational services at Lincoln Public Schools. For conferences with school officials, Angela Navarro, 23, is accused of posing as Scheich’s mother under the name “Danielle Hess”.
She’s facing criminal impersonation charges relating to her alleged actions and claimed that Scheich manipulated her.
It’s not clear what her relationship is with Scheich. Navarro has pleaded not guilty and is free on bond awaiting trial.
Scheich spent 54 days enrolled as a student at two different high schools in the area and after he stopped going to school, had his truancy reports sent to a fake address.
Prosecutors say that while at school, he spoke to girls via text and Snapchat. He flirted with the girls, sent them money and asked them to send him explicit photos, which were later found on his phone by police.
An investigation was prompted after he met some of the girl’s families who reported him as suspicious.
Scheich will be eligible for parole in 40 years. The defendant did not speak at his sentencing hearing. Instead, the outlet reported, he submitted a letter to the judge but it was not read during the proceedings.
He previously pleaded no contest in July to lower the total felony counts against him from 15 to five.
The long sentence reflected the number of victims the man had while he tried to pass as a student, Lancaster District Judge Darla S Ideus said, adding that the man’s actions had altered the life trajectories of his victims.
The student victims have also suffered bad grades and anxiety.
“The children you exploited were not equipped to protect themselves because they thought you were their peer,” the judge said during the hearing. One girl apparently suffered so much distress she no longer wants to leave her home.
“I am supposed to feel safe in school, and I no longer feel safe in a place that I used to,” the victim wrote in a victim impact statement. “I’m so guarded that anyone who tries to talk to me or get to know me, I shut it down.
“I never believe what anyone says anymore. My trust is so broken that even if I want to believe someone, I can’t.”
