The Lincoln man arrested in 2023 for impersonating an LPS high school student for 54 days was sentenced Wednesday to 85 to 120 years in prison.
KLIN media partner 10/11 Now reports 27-year-old Zachary Scheich won’t be eligible for parole for more than 40 years and is also required to register under Nebraska’s Sex Offender Act.
“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,” said Judge Darla Ideus 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.”
Back in July, Scheich pled no contest to charges of child enticement with electronic communication, generation of child pornography – age 19 or over, two counts of first degree sexual assault and attempted first degree sexual assault.
Scheich went by the name “Zak Hess” and crafted an “elaborate backstory” to pass himself off as a 17-year-old student and attend Lincoln Northwest High School during the first semester and transferred to Southeast High School during the second semester, all during the 2022-2023 school year. He provided fraudulent copies of his birth certificate, immunization records, physicals, and transcripts.
Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) Superintendent Dr. Paul Gausman said LPS followed all state and federal requirements for enrolling this student. Scheich enrolled online. “There was nothing provided by this individual that didn’t match what we get from our other students who are enrolling at our schools. This individual also matched the size and look of a lot of our students. He was 5’4” and 120 pounds. If you look at him next to other students in the school, he looked like the age he represented himself to be.”
Back in September, 23-year-old Angela Navarro was arrested after being identified as the individual who impersonated Scheich’s mother to register him for classes. Navarro faces a single charge of criminal impersonation of $5,000+, a class III felony. An arrest affidavit, reveled Navarro posed as “Danielle Hess,” Zak’s mother, and insisted on their false identities when contacted by Police.
Navarro’s next court date is set for Sept. 12 at 2:30 p.m.