(AP)-A 29-year-old east-central Nebraska man has been ruled mentally incompetent to stand trial on allegations that he molested his 8-year-old niece.

Platte County District Judge Robert Steinke’s ruling followed a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation. The state evaluation said the St. Edward man was developmentally disabled and was unlikely to become competent for trial within the foreseeable future.

Prosecutor Demi Herman says the county will begin a civil commitment proceeding to hold the defendant indefinitely.

The Associated Press isn’t using the defendant’s name in order to protect the identity of the girl.

The man had been charged with first-degree sexual assault of a child. He was accused of assaulting the girl several times from October 2011 to February 2012, when she was 8 years old.