$10 Million Bond Set for Suspect in Death of Five-Year-Old

Gage County District Court Judge Rick A. Schreiner set the bond for a suspect in the death of a five-year-old at $10 million.Timothy Lee Erks, age 30, of Liberty, appeared in Gage County District Court on Wednesday, October 1, 2025. He is charged with intentional child abuse resulting in death, a class 1B felony punishable by a minimum of 20 years and up to life in prison. He is also charged with two additional counts of intentional child abuse not resulting in injury, each a class 3A felony punishable by up to three years in prison, nine to 18 months of post-release supervision. The defendant appeared in court without counsel. His prior attorney James Scarff, filed a motion on September 16 to withdraw as counsel. In the written motion, he cited “a breakdown in attorney/client communication.” In court, Scarff indicated his legal fees had not been paid.Erks asked for more time to find an attorney. The judge agreed to continue the matter until October 23.Erks also asked for a bond review. He was originally arrested in June and bond was set at $1 million (10 percent) at that time. It was later changed to a no-bond hold after the boy died. After reviewing the state constitution, Judge Schreiner determined that a bond should be set. Erks requested a bond of $50,000 (10 percent). However, due to the severity of the allegations, the judge set the bond at $10 million (10 percent), meaning Erks would have to put up $1 million before he could be released. Erks is currently on the Nebraska Sex Offender Registry as a 15-year registrant. He was convicted of third-degree sexual assault in Gage County on August 21, 2014, and sentenced to one year in jail.In 2016, Erks was charged with violating the Sex Offender Registry Act by failing to report a change of address as required. He pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of obstructing government operations and was sentenced to 12 months of probation. In 2018, he was charged with two more counts of violating the Sex Offender Registry Act. Again, he pleaded guilty to obstructing government operations for each count and was sentenced to 24 months of probation.The defendant remains in custody as of press time

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