Nebraska man, 26, arrested after posing as a 17-year-old high school student for 54 days, police say

A 26-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of sex crimes after police said he posed as a high school student at two Nebraska high schools.

He is facing three felony charges, including two counts of sexual assault, use of an electronic device and one count of sex trafficking of a minor.

Police said Zachary Scheich went by the alias Zak Hess at the time and attended multiple schools in the Lincoln Public Schools district.

The man graduated from that same district in 2015, police said. Investigators are “trying to identify the scope of his actions,” Lincoln (Neb.) Police Department assistant chief Brian Jackson said at a news conference Thursday.

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How did Nebraska man Zachary Scheich land on police radars?

The investigation began on June 1 when police were contacted by the school district, according a release from the Lincoln Police Department.

The district found out about a person impersonating a student during the 2022-2023 school year under the name Zak Hess.

The person going by Hess said he was 17 years old. He enrolled at Northwest High School during the first semester and later transferred to Southeast High School during the second semester, the release said.

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Police later found out he graduated from Lincoln Public Schools in 2015 and that he is actually 26 years old.

School records revealed that he went to the schools under the Hess alias for a total of 54 days, police said. The man is 5-foot-4, 120 pounds and was able to blend in with other students.

As police continued their investigation, they found the student going by the name of Hess had contacts with juvenile students, allowing them to secure an arrest warrant.

He was arrested Thursday.

What Lincoln Public Schools is saying about man, 26, who posed as student

Lincoln Public Schools sent out an alert to families at Northwest and Southeast High Schools as well, police said. According to documents provided to USA TODAY by the school division, the alert gave families a breakdown of what happened.

October 20, 2022 – He began attending Northwest High School.
January 12, 2023 – He transferred to Southeast High School.
May 31 – The school district received a report that an adult male may be attending one of its high schools pretending to be a junior. The district’s student services and security department contacted police and turned information over to police as it was discovered.
July – Police confirmed that Zachary Scheich did enroll and attend two high schools during the 2022-23 school year under the name Zak Hess.
He was arrested Thursday.

Lincoln Public Schools superintendent Paul Gausman and associate superintendent for educational services Matt Larson spoke to community members and said the district distributed the man’s picture to schools and let everyone know he wasn’t allowed on the premises while police tried to confirm his identity.

They said the district follows state and federal requirements for enrolling students, which can be done online or in person. Regardless of whether someone applies online or in person, the district requests a birth certificate, immunization records, physicals and transcripts, school administrators said.

The district said the man exploited the enrollment process by using fake documents. Now, enrollment processes will be reviewed.

Extra safeguards will be put into place, such as multiple in-person conversations with parents and guardians who are trying to enroll students. The district also said it will continue to accommodate families whose schedules don’t allow for multiple meetings.

Police said investigators with the Special Victims Unit are interviewing potential victims. They asked that anyone who had contact with Scheich or may be a victim reach out to them.