A 41-year-old man once described by investigators as hiding out somewhere in the Omaha metro has been sentenced to 600 days in jail in Sarpy County District Court. Brian Ward was sentenced Monday after pleading no contest to child abuse, closing out a case that began with a public plea for tips and ended with him turning himself in to police.
Ward received 165 days of credit for time served, according to WOWT, which reported the sentencing. As part of the case, the station reported that Ward had faced eight other charges, including sexual assault of a child, and that those additional charges were dismissed as part of the resolution.
That number conflicts with how the case was described back in May, when WOWT reported Ward faced approximately six charges related to the alleged sexual assault of two children. The station has not explained the discrepancy between the two counts.
A Search Across the Metro
Ward's case first drew public attention in May, when investigators said they believed he was hiding somewhere in the Omaha metro and asked the public for help finding him. At that time, the station reported the alleged sexual assaults happened over a five-year span, starting when the two victims were in elementary school, and that the victims were 13 and 16 years old at the time of that report.
Ward turned himself in to Bellevue Police and was booked into the Sarpy County jail, the station reported in a separate article the following day. A member of the Metro Fugitive Task Force credited the station's Sarpy County Crimestoppers segment with prompting Ward to surrender, according to the same outlet's reporting.
What the Charge Covers
Nebraska's child abuse statute, as cited by the Nebraska Legislature, covers knowingly, intentionally, or negligently causing or permitting circumstances that endanger a child's life or physical or mental health, cruelly confining or punishing a child, depriving a child of necessary food, clothing, shelter, or care, or placing a child in a situation to be sexually abused. The statute also includes sexual-exploitation and trafficking-related provisions.
Court records in Nebraska, including case filings tied to matters like Ward's, can be searched through the Nebraska Judicial Branch's statewide trial-court records system, which includes criminal offense information. The state's search portal provides a way to search for cases.
