
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has upheld the child sexual assault conviction of an Omaha man who had objected to a court reporter’s covert efforts to correct a faulty trial transcript.
Charles Kays was sentenced in 2011 to up to 20 years in prison for sexually abusing a prepubescent girl.
On appeal, Kays’ attorney noted mistakes with the official trial transcript — including that 13 jurors instead of 12 deliberated the case. The court reporter corrected the mistakes, printed a new version and shredded the original — without the approval of a judge, as required by law.
The Nebraska Court of Appeals last year upheld Kays’ conviction, and he appealed to the Nebraska Supreme Court. On Friday, the high court upheld the appeals court’s finding.