A Furnas County man’s attempt to have sexual assault charges against him dismissed was overuled by District Judge Patrick Heng. Paul Douglas Brooks’ attorney argued for a plea in abatement at a January 18, 2024 hearing in Beaver City. Brooks faces charges of two counts of 1st Degree Sexual assault and one count of Sexual Assault of a Child in Furnas County District Court. At that time Brooks’ attorney Matthew Aerni told Judge Heng that testimony at the preliminary hearing in Furnas County Court did not meet the burden of proof that those crimes were committed. He also questioned the alignment of the allegations in the testimony.
Assistant Attorney General Sandra Allen said the Furnas County Judge was very thorough in her finding that the evidence presented at the preliminary hearing was sufficient to establish that there was probable cause that the crimes were committed and that the case should be bound over to the District Court.
On Tuesday March 5, 2024 Judge Heng issued his order to overrule Brooks’ plea in abatement “in it’s entirety”. He wrote that “the issue as to the specific time and date these events took place and the credibility of the alleged victim are all issues to be decided by a jury” He further found that there was enough evidence presented at the preliminary hearing to support a finding of probable cause on each of the three Counts in the Information.
Judge Heng set a further hearing on the charges for March 21, 2024 at 11:30am in Furnas County District Court.
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With his conviction for 1st Degree Sexual Assault of a Child accepted by the Nebraska Court of Appeals, Paul Douglas Brooks sought to be released on bond at the January 18th hearing, while that appeal is pending. In August of 2023, Brooks was sentenced to a term of from 25 to 35 years imprisonment after being found guilty by a Furnas County District Court Jury. The victim was 15-years-old at the time the sexual assault occurred in the basement of an Arapahoe home between September 21, 2019 and September 30, 2019. Brooks is currently serving his sentence in the Tecumseh State Corrictional Institution near Tecumseh.
Following the attorney statements in that hearing, Judge Heng denied the motion for an appeal bond citing his review of the case, the serious nature of charge, the sentence he was given and his age. He believed all those factors would give Brooks a “high incentive to flee.”
