Lincoln man goes to prison for sexually abusing foster daughter

Jul. 26—A Lincoln man was sent to prison Monday for sexually abusing his teenage foster daughter.

"This case is about trust. It is about responsibility," Lancaster County District Judge Jodi Nelson told the 28-year-old. "You were the adult here. You knew full well what you were getting into when you agreed to be a foster parent."

The Journal Star has chosen not to name the man to protect the identify of his victim.

At sentencing, the man turned down a chance to say anything before Nelson told him a foster parent is there to protect and keep safe someone who already has faced significant problems.

"You took advantage of that opportunity, not to take care of her, but to satisfy your own wants and desires," she said. "That violation of trust is enormous."

In October, the 17-year-old victim disclosed a sexual relationship with her foster father that had been going on for nearly six months, and investigators found evidence on his phone that corroborated it.

Lincoln Police arrested the man, who ultimately pleaded no contest to attempted second-degree sexual assault of a protected person.

On Monday, Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Matt Mellor argued against probation for the man who had no prior record, saying he had been put in a position of trust by the state and he broke that, as well as the trust the teen had in him.

In the end, Nelson gave the defendant the three-year maximum sentence, calling what he did "beyond the pale."

She said he had taken next-to-no responsibility for it.

"I haven't heard one word of remorse. I haven't heard one word acknowledging the pain and the damage that you have done. Not one. I find that telling, in large measure," the judge said, before sentencing the man to three years, plus 18 months of post-release supervision.

He also will have to register as a sex offender.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com.

On Twitter @LJSpilger

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