39-year-old Johnathan Shafer pleaded no contest to contributing to the delinquency of a minor and negligent child abuse. Both charges are misdemeanors punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
In exchange, prosecutors dropped a first-degree sexual assault of a child charge that could have carried a 15-year sentence.
Adams County Attorney Donna Fegler Daiss says the deal was made after the girl told police she had been mistaken on the relationship’s time frame and that she was 16 when it began.
Nebraska prohibits people 19 and older from having sexual contact with people younger than 16.