FALLS CITY, Neb. — A former Richardson County sheriff's deputy who accidentally shot himself last year and then lied about it now faces child abuse charges.
Joshua Nincehelser, 26, has been charged with first-degree sexual assault and child abuse, the Lincoln Journal Star reported. He's accused of sexually assaulting a girl younger than 12 earlier this year.
Nincehelser was arrested Tuesday after a woman reported that he may have assaulted her daughter.
A judge on Wednesday set Nincehelser's bond at $150,000. A jailer who answered the phone Saturday said Nincehelser was no longer being held in the Richardson County Jail.
A phone number for Nincehelser could not be found Saturday. His appointed attorney, O.W. VonSeggern, did not immediately return a message left at his office Saturday.
In January, Nincehelser was sentenced to three years of probation and 180 days of community service for felony criminal mischief and misdemeanor false reporting. Nincehelser told authorities in June 2014 that he had been shot by a driver he had pulled over near Humboldt, but authorities determined he lied. Nincehelser then told investigators he had accidentally shot himself and then fired several shots into his cruiser to make his story look real.
Nincehelser was later fired.
