Parents object after sex offender allowed on HS district campus
Zachary Nehus, the husband of Hot Springs School District Superintendent Stephanie Nehus who was recently paroled from state prison after serving six years of a sentence for child pornography, is not listed on the state’s website of sex offenders because he is classified as a Level 2 offender, the website’s manager said Wednesday.
State law directs the Arkansas Crime Information Center to maintain the website, which lists Level 3 and Level 4 sex offenders by assessment, Paula Stitz, state sex offender registry manager, said Wednesday.
Nehus’ presence on the school district’s campus has drawn objection from some parents, who showed up at Tuesday night’s monthly Hot Springs School Board meeting with the intention of discussing the matter with the board. The parents were told they would need to sign up in advance to be on the meeting’s agenda.
The families distributed copies of Nehus’ mug shot at Tuesday night’s meeting and expressed their intent to be on next month’s agenda to discuss the issue with the board.
Hananiah Moore and Hannah Blair, whose daughter is a firstgrade student at Park Magnet, an IB World School, were among those who protested.
“The issue is that no one here knew that (Stephanie Nehus) was bringing him into the school,” said Moore. “And there’s photographs of him in the school with children. You know, none of us knew about this. If you look on (Arkansas Crime Information Center) website, which is where you find sex offenders, he’s not there.”
Stitz said Wednesday that Level 2 offenders, although listed on the state registry record used by law enforcement, are only listed on the public registry if the offender was 18 or older at the time of the crime and the victim was 14 or younger at the time of the crime.
“Megan’s Law does protect child sex offenders in school campuses, which is an issue all in itself that I think should be revisited, but what we really want is we want (Nehus) to resign,” Moore said. “We want her to apologize. We want the school board to apologize for choosing someone and letting them
continue to be chosen who’s going to continue to bring a sex offender on the campus. That’s a major issue.
“If he is by all means following laws, there’s nothing I can do about that. What we want is our children for us to not worry about a sex offender being on campus basically. We don’t want him around our children. We don’t want him on campus helping with events. That’s seems a bit ridiculous to me, you know. So that’s what we want. I want her to resign, apologize, the school board apologize, and for him to no longer just freely be walking on campus.”
The Hot Springs School District’s policy, which permits Level 1 and Level 2 sex offenders to be allowed on campus, is taken directly from the Arkansas School Boards Association’s model policy, the district said on Wednesday.
According to the policy, Level 1 and 2 sex offenders are allowed on school campuses at activities where their own children are present.
Adriane Barnes, HSSD public relations and communications coordinator, said Wednesday the district has no further comments at this time beyond a statement issued after Tuesday’s meeting, except to confirm the district’s membership with the Arkansas School Boards Association and use of its model policies.
The statement said, in part, that the Garland County Sheriff’s Office and the HSSD Institutional Law Enforcement Agency are both involved with “ongoing efforts to make sure that Mr. Nehus — and anyone that is classified as any level of sex offender or who has been convicted of any crime — remains within the parameters of the law and is treated fairly and consistently, AND is treated in a way that keeps our students and staff members safe.”
“Per state law, sex offenders are required to register with county officials,” the statement said. “The Garland County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that Mr. Nehus is registered in this area.”
Deputy Courtney Kizer, the sex offender coordinator for the Garland County Sheriff’s Office, told The Sentinel-Record on Monday that Nehus “is compliant. He was assessed by the Sex Offender Risk Assessment Board as a Level 2.”
The statement also said “The HSSD School Board has heard the concerns of Trojan families and the Hot Springs community and has advised the Nehus family to remain mindful as they consider when and how Mr. Nehus will be involved with his children on school campuses and at school events in the future. They have followed all laws, rules, and regulations thus far, and they will continue to do so. Out of respect for the HSSD family, and hearing your concerns, the Nehus family has agreed that Mr. Nehus will not be present on school district grounds for the remainder of this semester, unless there is an emergency.”
The board also said it “has full confidence in the leadership of Dr. Nehus as the Superintendent of the Hot Springs School District.”
Nehus pleaded no contest on Feb. 29, 2016, to 10 counts of distributing, possessing or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child. He was sentenced March 21, 2016, by a jury after a two-day hearing before Judge John Homer Wright.
Nehus was arrested Sept. 25, 2014, and originally charged with 30 counts involving child pornography, but prosecutors had agreed to withdraw 20 of the counts as part of his negotiated plea deal. The six-man, six-woman jury recommended a sentence of three years in prison on eight of the counts and 10 years’ probation on two of the counts, to run consecutively, which would have meant 24 years in prison and 20 years’ probation.
It was explained to the jury that Nehus could be eligible for parole on his prison sentence after serving one-sixth, or four years, with the remaining 20 to be served on parole. Wright sentenced Nehus to a total of 24 years in prison on the eight counts as recommended, but sentenced him to 10 years in prison, with the sentence suspended, on the two remaining counts, to run concurrently.
According to the arrest affidavit, special agents with the Arkansas attorney general’s office had conducted an investigation into the possession and distribution of child pornography, which led them to Nehus’ residence. Pursuant to the execution of a search warrant, the agents made contact with Nehus who admitted to downloading, viewing and collecting child porn. Forensic reviews of his computer and storage media revealed more than 40 videos of confirmed child porn and Nehus was taken into custody without incident.
Nehus, who lists no prior criminal history, was employed as a fourth-grade teacher at St. John’s Catholic School, located at 583 W. Grand Ave., but resigned the day of his arrest.