A teacher and her boyfriend stand accused of sex trafficking a high school student in Holdrege, Nebraska.
The suspects are identified as 36-year-old Elizabeth Jamie Love and 42-year-old Jarid “Jack” Krause, KSNB reported Friday.
The couple was taken into custody after the Holdrege Police Department and several other law enforcement agencies including the Nebraska State Patrol began investigating the case, which resulted in an arrest warrant and criminal complaint filed by the Phelps County Attorney’s Office.
Images show the two suspects:
According to police, Love has been working as a teacher and transition coordinator with ESU-11 and spends time at multiple schools in the state. ESU-11 said she has been placed on administrative leave due to the investigation.
“The investigation began after police say a current high school student that Love was instructing through her employment as a transition coordinator and teacher in ESU-11 reported inappropriate interactions with the couple over the past few weeks,” the outlet noted.
The charges against Love are one count of sex trafficking a minor and one count of sexual grooming by a school worker, while Krause faces a single count of sex trafficking a minor.
Nebraska TV cited an arrest affidavit when it reported on Friday the girl told officials in August she overheard the couple talking on the phone and the man allegedly said he wanted to have sex with the girl.
“The affidavit said on Oct. 11, Love picked the girl up and took her to Love’s home in Holdrege. The girl said while she was there, Krause led her to an upstairs bedroom and made a request she thought was for sex,” the outlet stated.
“The girl said she declined Krause’s request and asked if she could leave. The affidavit said he then allowed her to leave the home, which she did,” the report noted.
Security video reportedly shows the girl walking and Love following her in a vehicle. The alleged victim told authorities the teacher eventually drove her home.
“The affidavit said the girl told investigators Love apologized to her, told her not to tell anyone and gave her $100 in $20 increments. In a later interview with law enforcement, the affidavit said Love told them the money was not intended as ‘hush money,’ but was gifted to the girl to purchase a new cell phone,” the Nebraska TV report said.
The news comes after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) dismantled a criminal illegal alien-run human trafficking ring in Nebraska that was operating from motels and eyebrow salons in Omaha, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a press release August 18.
The agency said federal officials rescued several children during their operation:
On August 12, ICE rescued 27 victims, including 10 children under the age of 12, from horrific conditions and exploitation. Victims were crammed into cockroach infested rooms and trapped in squalor with no basic sanitation or safety. Children and adults were being sex trafficked, and the motel was also being used for drug trafficking operations.
“Our brave ICE law enforcement rescued these children and women who were being sexually exploited and trafficked,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “President Trump and Secretary Noem will not allow children and women to be victims of these heinous human trafficking rings. Our message to human traffickers is clear: we will dismantle your networks, and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. That’s a promise.”
According to 1011 News, Krause and Love are scheduled to appear in court on Monday, and the KSNB article said they are being held in the Phelps County Jail on $250,000 bond.
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