Ex-deputy who shot himself found not guilty of child abuse

FALLS CITY, Neb. (AP) - A former sheriff’s deputy in Nebraska who accidentally shot himself in 2014 has been found not guilty of child abuse charges.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports (https://bit.ly/2eCEcte ) a jury on Oct. 21 found 28-year-old Joshua Nincehelser not guilty of three felony child abuse charges. He had been accused of sexually assaulting a girl younger than 12.

Nincehelser was a Richardson County Sheriff’s deputy in 2014 when he reported he was shot by a driver he had pulled over near Humboldt. Authorities determined he lied and Nincehelser later told investigators he’d accidentally shot himself and shot at his cruiser to make his story look real.

Nincehelser was sentenced in 2015 to three years of probation and 180 days of community service for felony criminal mischief and misdemeanor false reporting.

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Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, https://www.journalstar.com