A 27-year-old Nebraska man has been sentenced to up to 120 years in prison for fraudulently enrolling in high school and committing sex crimes against a 13-year-old girl.
Judge Darla Ideus sentenced Zachary Shaich to 85 to 120 years in prison on Wednesday. Shaich was arrested in July. Pleaded Scheihi was acquitted of five felony charges, including two counts of first-degree sexual assault, attempted first-degree sexual assault, enticement of a child and production of child pornography. Scheihi had previously been indicted on nine felony counts, but those charges were reduced as part of a plea agreement.
“The worst kind of predator”
Shaich will also be required to register as a sex offender and will be eligible for parole after 41 years.
“They knew not to talk to adult men on social media, they knew not to meet alone with adult men and they knew how to protect themselves from those risks,” Judge Ideus told Shaich during the sentence. Cologne TV“They didn't know how to protect themselves from you. Again, they considered you an ally. They considered you their friend. And you had earned their trust.”
As previously reported by The Blaze-News, Shaich attended high school for 54 days during the 2022-23 school year.
Shaikh reportedly attended Northwest High School before transferring to Southeast High School, graduating from there in 2015. He also allegedly enrolled in summer classes but never attended.
Police say Scheihi submitted a false birth certificate and immunization records to Lincoln Public Schools to gain admission to high school. Scheihi used the false name “Zach Hess” to enroll in high school.
Schaich is described as 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighs 120 pounds, and described himself as 17 years old. Lincoln Police Deputy Chief Brian Jackson said the suspect “blended in with the other students.”
Shaikh allegedly began a relationship with an underage girl while he was in high school and sometimes met up with her family.
Shaich engaged in sexually explicit conversations with 13- and 14-year-old students. According to According to court documents, he allegedly sent sexually explicit text messages to female students and asked one student for “pornographic material.”
Prosecutor said Shaikh sexually assaulted multiple underage victims.
During the sentencing, Deputy County Attorney Amber Scholte called Seech “a predator of the worst kind.” Cologne Reported.
“He targeted, lured and seduced these women through social media,” Scholte said, “while posing as their companion, friend or in some cases their lover. And he did so for his own sexual purposes and gratification.”
Shaikh reportedly enlisted the help of 23-year-old Angela Navarro, who posed as his mother and helped him get into high school.
According to an arrest affidavit, Navarro posed as Zach's mother, “Danielle Hess,” and worked with Lincoln Public Schools officials to enroll Shaich in high school.
Police arrested Navarro in September 2023. Navarro pleaded not guilty to a Class 3 felony charge of identity theft over $5,000. The bogus enrollment scheme reportedly cost the Lincoln Public School District more than $6,000.
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