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Trial of Ex-Worker in Neb. Abuse Case to Be Moved

Beatrice Developmental Center
Beatrice Developmental Center

(AP) — The second trial of a former Beatrice State Developmental Center worker accused of abusing developmentally disabled adults who lived at the center will be moved.

Gage County District Judge Paul Korslund agreed to move the trial to Jefferson County District Court in Fairbury because of concerns about publicity.

Matthew Pangborn was sentenced last year to 15 to 23 years in prison after being convicted in July 2012 of four counts of abusing a vulnerable adult and several other charges. He was accused of beating and choking residents when he worked at the Beatrice State Developmental Center in 2011.

The Nebraska Supreme Court ordered a new trial because jurors at Pangborn’s first trial used a chart that prosecutors created during deliberations.

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