BEATRICE – A former Beatrice Public Schools paraeducator has entered written pleas of innocent, waiving her appearance that was scheduled for May 5th in Gage County District Court.
28-year-old Casey Schaefer, of DeWitt pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of enticement by electronic communication device, intentional child abuse and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
The charges carry possible penalties of up to six years in prison, fines up to $21,000 and post-release supervision of up to 30 months.
A pretrial conference in the case will be set for June 16th.
The Gage County Attorney alleges violations occurred January 27th and involved a 14-year-old child. Police arrested Schaefer after receiving a report about social media messages between the suspect and the youth. Schaefer was on the school staff at Paddock Lane Elementary School.
Police believe the social media communications had been going on for a couple of months and learned of the matter when they were provided with evidence of phone messages and screen shots. Schaefer was terminated from her job with Beatrice Public Schools.
