O'Neill man sentenced to 30 days for sexual assault of child

A 56-year-old O’Neill man, who was convicted earlier this year of third-degree sexual assault of a child, was sentenced Monday by the Honorable Mark Kozisek in the Holt County district courtroom.

Kozisek ordered Ronald J. Ross Jr. to serve 30 days in the Holt County Jail and a two-year term of probation, including probation fees totaling $630. As part of his probation, Ross was ordered to participate in outpatient sex-offense treatment, approved by his probation officer, addressing thinking errors that contributing to the offense; sexual and emotional problems contributing to the offense; an increase in his understanding and change of his belief system related to the offense; learning to control deviant sexual fantasies; understand how the offense behavior occurred and risk factors that led to the offense; acquisition of better problem-solving skills. He was ordered to view no pornography and to allow his probation officer to access his electronic media.

Providing he loses no good time, Ross must serve 23 days of his jail sentence before being eligible for mandatory release. He was also taxed $147 costs of prosecution and is subject to terms of the Nebraska Sexual Offender Registration Act.

Ross pleaded no contest to the Class 3 felony in February, pursuant to a plea deal with Holt County attorney Brent Kelly. Kelly reduced the original Class 2 felony, first-degree sexual assault. The original complaint alleged Ross, between March 27, 2008, and March 27, 2009, “subjected another person to sexual penetration without consent of the victim.”

The amended complaint, to which Ross pleaded no contest and was adjudged guilty, charged that he, “on or about a period commencing March 27, 2008, and ending March 27, 2009…being 19 years of age or older, did subject another person, 14 years of age or younger, to sexual contact, said person having a date of birth of March 27, 1995.”

Ross was represented by Bergan Schumacher of Kearney.