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DOUGLAS COUNTY, Neb. —
Douglas County prosecutors believe an Omaha substitute teacher sexually assaulted a teenage boy more than once.
Erin Ward, 45, was arrested Saturday morning after a 911 call of a
suspicious vehicle parked on a dead-end road near 189th and Blondo streets.
Deputies found Ward with a 17-year-old boy, and the teacher was arrested
and charged with one count of felony sexual abuse by a school employee
after admitting to having sexual relations with a teen.
Ward was a substitute teacher at Omaha Burke High School, and the school confirmed that she will not be returning to their school or any others
in the Omaha Public Schools district.
"If it's an ongoing relationship, which is what we see here, then I
consider that grooming. I mean obviously there's some things that will
come out in the investigation that I'm not willing to get into the
details of right now that would suggest certainly she was doing things
down that path that I would consider grooming, yes," Brenda Beadle,
Douglas County deputy district attorney, said.
Deputies said the victim jumped into the driver's seat, driving two
blocks before crashing into a yard.
The boy ran off, and that's when deputies made contact with Ward, who
was putting her clothes on in the back seat.
"Based on what we know in the interviews that were done it is sexual
abuse by a school employee, which in this case is a two-way, which
carries 0 to 20 years," Beadle said.
Deputies later found the victim in the Newport Landing neighborhood
wearing just boxers, a T-shirt and socks.
"We have female teachers, female coaches, female scout leaders doing
this, whether it's with a boy or girl it doesn't matter. The impact is
the same and it can have a long-term impact into adulthood," Beadle said.
A common misconception in cases such as this is that a teenage male
cannot be a victim, but as Michelle Bang, deputy director of Project
Harmony, told KETV NewsWatch 7 that is not the case.
"I know that some of the questions and some of the things people have
indicated is that it's different when the victim is male as opposed to a female, which I don't agree with that, and again the whole purpose of
this statute is to protect those that are vulnerable," Bang said.
Experts urge that, whether you're a victim or even a bystander, it is
important to speak up.
"It is important to be honest if you are a young person involved. It can
be difficult but we know statistically some offenders are going to
offend multiple times so by sharing your story you may be preventing
another," Bang said.
Ward is scheduled to make her first court appearance on Tuesday morning.
https://www.ketv.com/article/omaha-prosecutors-investigate-teacher-sexual-abuse/60503305
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