A 27-year-old man from Nebraska, who posed as a high school student in order to sexually assault female high school students, may spend the rest of his life in jail, after being sentenced to 85 to 120 years in prison.
Zachary Scheich from Lincoln concocted a convoluted backstory in order to to pose as a student at two Lincoln high schools which he attended last year and even roped in another woman to pose as his mother.
Scheich pled no contest to child enticement with electronic communication, generation of child pornography – age 19 or over, attempted first degree sexual assault and two counts of first degree sexual assault in July.
Aside from registering under Nebraska’s Sex Offender Act, he won’t be eligible for parole for more than 40 years.
‘They knew not to speak with an adult male on social media. They knew not to meet an adult male by themselves, they knew how to defend themselves against that kind of danger,’ Judge Darla Ideus said during the sentencing.
‘They did not know how to protect themselves against you. Because again, they thought you were their peer. Their friend. And because you gained their trust.’
Scheich was arrested in July 2023 when authorities learned how he was pretending to be a student at both Lincoln Northwest High School and Lincoln Southeast High School under the alias of 17-year-old ‘Zak Hess.’
It was then revealed how he’d had inappropriate relationships with students during the 2022-2023 school year.
After creating false documents to give credence to his ‘elaborate backstory’, Scheich attended classes in the schools for a total of 54 days, during which time he sexually assaulted several children.
Court documents detail how for months, Scheich texted 13- and 14-year-old girls, talking about school sports and classwork, making them believe he was a 17-year-old.
The court documents allege how the conversations went on for months with Scheich even meeting the teen’s families, pretending to be 17-year-old Hess.
Scheich asked for — and received — nude photos from a 13-year-old, promising money in return.
At one point, investigators said he asked the girl whether she wanted to lose her virginity to him.
Following Scheich’s arrest, Lincoln Police said at least three more people came forward with their own allegations.
‘This individual, while looking like a high school student, also presented incredibly well-crafted fraudulent documents as a part of entering the schools,’ explained Dr. Paul Gausman, superintendent of Lincoln Public Schools.
‘This individual provided a birth certificate, a high school transcript — turns out all those appeared to be fraudulent, added Matt Larson, Associate Superintendent for Educational Services of LPS.
Larson says Scheich’s fabricated birth certificate, high school transcript, immunization records and even a physical exam were extremely convincing.
‘This student completed the enrollment process online, submitted the documents online. and their parent was not directly in the enrollment process, which is not unusual,’ Larson said.
Bizarrely, Scheich had actually attended Lincoln Southeast in 2015, but nobody working at the school recognized him from that time.
Lincoln Police Assistant Chief Brian Jackson said Scheich is 5′4″, 120 pounds, and ‘appears to have blended in with other students.’
Deputy County Attorney Amber Scholte described Schiech as a ‘predator of the worst kind.’
‘He targeted, groomed and lured them via social media,’ Scholte said. ‘He did so under the guise of being their peer, their friend, and in some cases, their boyfriend. And he did so for his own sexual purpose and gratification.’
Schiech’s father, Jeff, who is a Lincoln pastor addressed his son’s crimes in front of his congregation.
‘We heard the bizarre story that he had been enrolled as a student at LPS this past school year. We learned on the news along with you, the extent of the allegations against him — and it’s horrifying.’
Jeff Schiech offered prayers ‘for anyone and everyone who might have been hurt.’
Alongside Scheich, 23-year-old Angela Navarro was also arrested by police in September last year, after authorities suspected she helped Scheich enroll in the two schools pretending to be his ‘mom’.
Navarro pled not guilty to a single charge of criminal impersonation and will have to pay a $5,000 fine.