Nebraska man who posed as high school student convicted of sexually abusing teens

LINCOLN, Nebraska – A 27-year-old man who posed as an underage student and visited two high schools for 54 days was sentenced last week to a lengthy prison term for sexually abusing more than a dozen students.

According to WFLA News, authorities said Zachary Scheich posed as 17-year-old Zak Hess and re-enrolled at Lincoln Southeast High School, from which he graduated in 2015. He also attended Lincoln Northwest High School.

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Prosecutors say he targeted, recruited and lured several teenage girls through social media. Some of his victims were as young as 13 years old.

Since he is only 1.62 m tall and weighs only 54 kg, he was able to integrate into both schools in 2022 and 2023, reports the Independent.

Sheikh was convicted of sexual assault, seduction of children through electronic communication and creation of sexually explicit images of children. He was sentenced to 85 to 120 years in prison, is not eligible for parole for 40 years and must register as a sex offender upon his release, KOLN reports.

Sheikh used fake documents to enroll in two high schools

He was arrested on July 23 after some of his victims' parents expressed suspicions about him and school officials discovered his true identity.

The district discovered that Sheikh used a fake birth certificate, immunization records, transcripts and medical records to gain admission to the two high schools. When he stopped attending classes, his truancy reports were sent to a false address he provided.

The district said it would review its enrollment process.

Angela Navarro, 23, was also arrested for posing as Sheik's mother to help him get into school, 1011Now reports. She pleaded not guilty to criminal impersonation, claiming she was manipulated by Sheik, USA Today reports.