A former
Scottsbluff firefighter pleaded no contest Tuesday to a charge of
soliciting prostitution.
Paul Neideffer, 42,
of Scottsbluff, appeared in Scotts Bluff County Court for a
pre-trial conference on the charge, which is a Class I
misdemeanor.
When Scotts Bluff
County Deputy Attorney Tiffany Wasserburger indicated that the
state planned to take the count to trial, Neideffer’s attorney
Stacy Petit indicated her client “just wanted to be done with
this.” He entered a no contest plea to the charge, which stems from
an Aug. 3 incident. At the time of the incident, Neideffer had been
employed as a firefighter with the Scottsbluff Fire Department. He
had been placed on paid administrative leave, but submitted his
resignation in mid-September, said Scottsbluff City Manager Rick
Kuckkahn on Tuesday.
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Specifics about the
allegations against Neideffer were heard for the first time Tuesday
as the Scottsbluff Police Department had denied a Star-Herald
request for the report in the incident.
Wasserburger
stated in court that the charge stemmed from a complaint by a
former employee of Neideffer. She said a female employee had been
trying to collect about $280 in money that was owed to her
for work she had performed in his painting business.
The woman received a text message from Neideffer telling her that
he had the money and asked her if she wanted to double the money.
She had asked him for clarification when he told her she could
double the money by performing a sex act. The woman had asked if he
was serious. Neideffer sent a series of texts to the female and
arrived at a location, expecting the female employee to perform the
sex act.
The female employee
was also accompanied by her boyfriend and had contacted police. The
woman indicated that “this sort of thing had happened before,”
Wasserburger said in court.
She said it was
serious charge and asked for a pre-sentence investigation. Scotts
Bluff County Judge James Worden entered the plea and a finding of
guilty. He said a sentencing would be scheduled within 30 to 45
days.
The charge is
punishable by up to one year in jail, a $1,000 fine or
both.
