(NEXSTAR) – A Nebraska man accused of posing as a 17-year-old and enrolling in high school now faces multiple sex crime charges, police say.
Zachary Scheich, 26, of Lincoln, faces three felonies – one count of sex trafficking of a minor and two counts of sexual assault using an electronic device.
Scheich attending roughly 54 days of school, enrolling first at Northwest High School and then transferring to Southeast High School in the second semester, police said in a news release.
“Scheich is 5’4” and 120 pounds and appears to have blended in with other students,” Lincoln police said in a news release Thursday.
“I’ve been in the district for 10 years, and this is the first time that I can remember something like this happening,” Lincoln Public Schools Director of Security Joe Wright told KLKN.
He told the station that a prospective student would have to provide a birth certificate, immunization records and transcripts, at the very least.
Lincoln Public Schools, the same district from which Scheich graduated in 2015, contacted police on June 1, 2023 after being alerted that someone was impersonating a student.
Police initially opened a fraud investigation, later learning that Scheich allegedly used his fictitious persona to make “multiple contacts with juvenile students.” Local station KETV reports that Scheich allegedly engaged with female victims by phone or computer.
Officers moved quickly to arrest Scheich Thursday to prevent additional assaults, according to KETV. Police took him into custody without incident at a Lincoln City Library.
It’s not yet clear how Scheich managed to re-enroll himself in high school, and Lincoln Public Schools said in a statement that it is reviewing the enrollment procedures.
The school district has contacted families and police said Thursday they are still working to determine extent of the alleged crimes.