A 27-year-old Nebraska man who reportedly posed as a 17-year-old high school student for over two months in 2023 will face many decades in prison.
According to court records obtained by local CBS affiliate KOLN-TV and The Grand Island Independent, Zachary Scheich was sentenced to 85 to 120 years in prison last week after Lancaster County attorneys argued that he posed as a teenager in high school to gain access to and exploit underage girls.
Scheich previously pled no guilty to several felony charges in July, including first-degree sexual assault, attempted first-degree sexual assault, creation of child pornography (age 19 or older), and child seduction with internet contact, according to NBC News.
According to The Independent, Lancaster County District Judge Darla Ideus referred to Scheich as a “significant risk to the community” in court and stated, “The court concludes that the risk is substantial that you will prey upon others if you are not incarcerated for a lengthy period.”
Scheich will not be eligible for parole for more than 40 years, according to KOLN-TV.
Lancaster County Deputy County Attorney Amber Scholte described the 27-year-old as a “predator of the worst kind” in court, saying he “targeted, groomed, and lured” teenage girls on social media “under the guise of being their peer, friend, and, in some cases, boyfriend,” according to the outlet.
The Lancaster County public defender’s office, which represented Scheich, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s inquiry.
Scheich was arrested in July 2023 after the Lincoln Police Department discovered that the then 26-year-old had enrolled at Northwest High School and Southeast High School during the 2022-2023 school year under the name Zak Hess.
Investigators discovered that he had only attended 54 days of school, despite having graduated from Lincoln Public Schools in 2015. During this period, authorities said he contacted female students via electronic devices under his fictitious name and issued an alert to identify possible victims.
According to PEOPLE, prosecutors said in court that Scheich prepared bogus papers to pass himself off as a 17-year-old student and sexually abused other students using his phony identity.
Another lady, Angela Navarro, 23, was also detained in connection with the crime. According to KOLN-TV, she supported Scheich by pretending as his mother, “Danielle Hess,” and worked with Lincoln Public Schools workers to enroll him.
She was released on bond after pleading not guilty to a charge of criminal impersonation in excess of $5,000.