Nebraska Man Accused of Posing as High School Student Paid Teen for Raunchy Photos, Asked Another to Lose Her Virginity to Him: Police

A 26-year-old Nebraska man has been arrested after he allegedly enrolled as a high school student and engaged in allegedly questionable conversations with multiple underage girls, according to authorities.

On June 1, the Lincoln Police Department reported an “individual impersonating a student under the name of Zak Hess.”

The man was later identified as Zachary Scheich and he reportedly pretended to be a 17-year-old enrolled at Northwest High School before transferring to Southeast High School during the 2022-2023 school year, officials said.

Scheich allegedly used fraudulent documents in order to enroll in the school and created an “elaborate backstory,” according to an arrest affidavit.

At a recent press conference, Lincoln Assistant Chief of Police Brian Jackson said Scheich attended 54 days of school, stood 5-foot-4 and weighed 120 pounds. Jackson added that Scheich “blended in with other students.”

During the investigation, police determined Scheich actually graduated from Lincoln Public Schools in 2015.

While he was fraudulently enrolled in the school, Scheich is accused of having inappropriate contact with multiple juvenile students while on school property.

Scheich allegedly was texting young girls, KOLN-TV reported. In the messages, police said, “Scheich would continue to reinforce his false identity as a peer and discuss things like classwork and high school sports."

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Scheich reportedly conversed with the minors for months and he even met the girls’ families, KOLN-TV reported.

Police said Scheich allegedly tried to have sex with a 14-year-old girl in February, KOLN-TV reported. In March, he also asked a 13-year-old student to meet for sex and questioned if she’d lose her virginity to him as well as send sexually explicit photos in exchange for money, police said. Investigators allegedly were able to recover evidence of at least one payment.

On July 20, Scheich was arrested and charged with sexual assault, use of an electronic device and sex trafficking of a minor, according to officials.

He was booked into the Lancaster County Jail and is being held on a $250,000 bond.

The investigation is ongoing and the school district is cooperating with the investigation.