Dad charged with raping his two daughters, manufacturing child porn during court-ordered visitation (Columbus, Nebraska)

UNNAMED DAD obviously had weekend visitation by court order. Wonder what judge ordered it? What custody evaluators and the like recommended it? Were there previous allegations of domestic violence and/or child abuse that were ignored? What is the back story here?

http://columbustelegram.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/new-charges-added-against-dad-accused-of-sex-assaults/article_3b351775-10e4-575f-98d9-fa675697ebe6.html

New charges added against dad accused of sex assaults

1 hour ago • By Jim Osborn

COLUMBUS — A 38-year-old Columbus man accused of sexually assaulting his two daughters last fall during visits to his home is now charged with multiple counts of manufacturing and possessing child pornography.

The new charges against the city man, who is not being named to protect the privacy of the victims, accuse the defendant of one count of creating the visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct and four counts of possession of child porn.

The manufacturing charge involves four separate female victims ranging from ages 7 to 11. All five charges have been filed in Platte County Court.

The manufacturing charge has a maximum penalty of 50 years imprisonment while the possession charges each carry a penalty of up to 20 years behind bars. The manufacturing charge accuses the defendant of creating the visual images between early August and late October.

Meanwhile, the defendant had been scheduled for a jury trial on three counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child in connection with the assaults of his daughters, ages 9 and 7, last October during visits to his rural Columbus mobile home.

The sexual assault charges are all Class 1B felonies, each punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment and a minimum of 20 years in prison.

The defendant has been in custody at the Platte County Detention Facility since his arrest last fall.

Deputy Platte County Public Defender Nathan Sohriakoff said the manufacturing and possession of porn charges were expected.

Sohriakoff asked for and received a delay in the sexual assault trial earlier this week. A new trial date has been set for May 28 in district court.

Rescheduling the trial will allow both felony cases to be resolved together, Sohriakoff said.

Court documents in the sexual assault case describe an investigation that got underway last fall after the Platte County Sheriff’s Office received information from a state agency alleging child abuse and neglect involving the defendant and his children.

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services report included allegations of sexual abuse involving the defendant taking baths with his minor biological daughters, said Sheriff’s Investigator Dane Jensen in his statement supporting an arrest warrant.

Jensen said one of the daughters disclosed to her mother that their father had been taking baths with her and her sister.

The defendant was not the custodial parent of the children and has been divorced from their mother for five years. The defendant had visitation rights with the children every other weekend.

During recorded forensic interviews at the Child Advocacy Center in Norfolk, Jensen said the girls described explicit sexual acts their father committed during their visitations to his home. The investigator said one of the victims said her father told her not to tell anyone about the sexual activity.

Jensen said the defendant denied all allegations of sexual activity with his daughters.