Man accused of rape in UNO dorm is convicted of misdemeanor, sentenced to probation

A 19-year-old Omaha man who was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in her UNO dorm room was sentenced Wednesday to two years of probation.

Austin T. Reed also will have to register as a sex offender for 15 years after pleading no contest to third-degree sexual assault, a misdemeanor. He initially was charged with felony first-degree sexual assault.

A then-17-year-old girl told police in August 2017 that she was raped by Reed in her dorm room in Maverick Village, a residence hall on the main campus of the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

April Lucas, an assistant public defender, said the two had met on Tinder, went for a walk, then went to the girl’s room to watch TV. They then played a “Truth or Dare” game with a phone app, Lucas said.

“One thing led to another, and the two of them started to become intimate together,” Lucas said. “(Reed) was not there to take advantage of her or cause her any harm at all.”

Lucas said Reed misread the girl’s signals because he thought everything was OK. Afterward, Lucas said, he asked the girl if she wanted to date.

Reed has no prior criminal history and plans to work to get his GED, Lucas said.

Prosecutor Ryan Lindberg said Wednesday that the girl wrote a letter to the court, but he did not read it aloud.

Reed, who attended the hearing with his mother, declined to comment after the hearing.

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