OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Douglas County has settled a lawsuit with a former jail administrator who says her job was cut after she reported catching her supervisor having sex with a co-worker in the office.

The County Board approved the settlement Tuesday, authorizing a payment of $19,500 to Nancy Mullenax. As outlined in the agreement, the county admits no wrongdoing in the case.

In her lawsuit, Mullenax alleges she was singled out for discipline after reporting the incident in 2009, because officials didn’t want it publicized as the jail went through accreditation. She says she was later told her job was cut due to budget constraints.

County Administrator Patrick Bloomingdale declined to comment on the settlement.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A former Douglas County sheriff’s deputy accused of extorting a woman into sex has taken a plea deal and been convicted of assault.

Court records say 31-year-old Cory Cooper on Wednesday pleaded no contest to the assault charge and to one of attempted evidence tampering. Prosecutors initially charged Cooper with felony sex assault but lowered the charge in exchange for his pleas.

Cooper is scheduled to be sentenced on June 10.

He was arrested after a 19-year-old woman reported that he forced her into a sex act so she could get a friend out of trouble in February 2013. Cooper was fired later.

COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — A 37-year-old Columbus woman has pleaded not guilty to 15 counts of aiding what prosecutors say was her boyfriend’s counterfeiting scheme.

A trial in Platte County District Court is scheduled to begin on June 15 for Stacy Ballou, who also is known as Stacy Segura. She’s charged with 15 counts of aiding and abetting a felony. Prosecutors say she helped 36-year-old Brian Dieter, who faces trial on 15 counts of forgery and one of being a habitual criminal.

Court documents say surveillance video showed Dieter exchanging the counterfeit bills on Feb. 8 at a convenience store where Ballou was working as a clerk.

YANKTON, S.D. (AP) — A semitrailer fire near the South Dakota-Nebraska border destroyed the rig and more than 20 tons of groceries it was hauling.

The truck caught fire on U.S. Highway 81 south of Yankton about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday. Yankton Assistant Fire Chief Larry Nickles says the blaze began in the engine compartment, and the driver was unable to put it out with a fire extinguisher.

The truck was hauling about $62,000 worth of groceries from Affiliated Foods of Norfolk, Nebraska. Nickles estimated the total loss of the fire at about $200,000.

BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — A 40-year-old Beatrice man convicted of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old boy has been given five years of probation and will be committed to a treatment program.

Court records say Scott Taylor was sentenced on Tuesday.

Gage County District Judge Paul Korslund said in a court document last month that Taylor needs court-ordered custody or treatment because he suffers an intellectual disability or severe chronic cognitive impairment. Court documents say experts concluded that Taylor does pose a threat to others.

Taylor will be sent to an Omni Behavioral Health program in Omaha for a 90-day period so a longer-term treatment program can be formulated. The judge set a hearing date of July 15 to review the case.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A judge has sentenced a 21-year-old Omaha man to at least 30 years in prison for strangling his girlfriend to death and then dumping her body in an open grave at a cemetery.

Mikael Loyd was sentenced Tuesday after he pleaded no contest to second-degree murder in the August 2013 death of 19-year-old Melissa Rodriguez.

Rodriguez’s family says they are unhappy that Loyd didn’t receive more prison time. Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine also says he’s disappointed in the sentence.

Loyd’s attorney had said his client should receive a more lenient sentence because of his remorse and his acceptance of responsibility.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln man has been sentenced for setting his jail mattress on fire and assaulting police.

26-year-old Teachloach Luk Ret was sentenced Tuesday to 3½ to 7 years in prison after pleading no contest to third-degree arson and third-degree assault on an officer.

Pleading no contest means Ret admitted no guilt for the crimes, but allowed the court to determine punishment rather than bring the case to trial.

Police say Ret was detained in November on misdemeanor domestic assault, resisting arrest and criminal mischief charges. He was charged with arson in February after igniting his mattress because jailers wouldn’t give him a new mattress.

A fire investigator later determined Ret used batteries and a piece of wire to start the fire.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha woman convicted of sexually assaulting two teenage boys has been sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.

A Douglas County judge administered the sentence Monday to 40-year-old Tera Stewart. She will serve a term of three to five years for third-degree sexual assault of a child and six to 10 years for attempted first-degree sexual assault concurrently.

A defense attorney for Stewart says the abuse was “a very, very bad mistake,” and that he was disappointed with the judge’s decision not to grant her probation. He says his client had no criminal background and would have been a good probation candidate.

Court records say Stewart initiated a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old boy in October 2009. Another boy told police he became involved with Stewart in June.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Investigators have determined the cause of a fire at an Omaha auto repair garage that sent one person to the hospital.

Omaha Fire Battalion Chief Tim McCaw says fuel vapors ignited by a water heater caused the fire Monday at a building owned by A-1 United Heating and Cooling, near the northeast corner of 50th and F streets. Fire officials closed off streets in the area to contain the blaze.

Dispatchers say the injured person was taken to Nebraska Medical Center in critical condition for treatment of burns. The person’s name and current condition haven’t been released.