With his conviction for 1st Degree Sexual Assault of a Child accepted by the Nebraska Court of Appeals, Paul Douglas Brooks is seeking to be released on bond 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.
A bond review hearing for Brooks was conducted in Furnas County District Court Thursday before District Judge Patrick Heng. Defense Attorney Matthew Aerni acknowledged that Brooks was convicted of a “very, very serious crime”. He said one of the purposes of bond is to secure a defendant’s appearance at future court hearings and that they don’t abscond. Aerni says Brooks was released on bond while that case was pending, attended all the hearings and did not abscond. He said Brooks has family in the area and has offered to post up to $100,000 cash bond for his release.
Corey O’Brien, Chief Prosecutor at the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, said that immediately following Brooks’ conviction, District Judge Jim Doyle revoked Brooks’ bond and ordered him held without bond until sentencing. O’Brien said an appeal bond is an extraordinary measure, though clearly a discretion of the Court. O’Brien said that Brooks has another case pending involving alleged sexual assaults which adds to the inappropriateness of setting of a bond and that he is a danger to society as well.
Following the attorney statements, 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.”
Judge Heng also heard statements on Brooks’ motion for a plea in abatement on his current charges of two counts of 1st Degree Sexual assault and one count of Sexual Assault of a Child in Furnas County District Court. Brooks’ attorney 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.
Judge Heng took the statements under advisement and said he would issue his ruling on the Plea in Abatement later.
