Victim in Child Abuse Case Dies

A Liberty man suspected of child abuse is facing a more serious charge now that the alleged victim has died.Timothy Lee Erks, age 30, was arraigned in Gage County Court on Tuesday, July 15, 2025. Jeffrey A. Gaertig was the presiding judge.Erks was previously charged with intentional child abuse resulting in injury. However, the alleged victim, a five-year-old male, died in the hospital sometime after the suspect's arrest. Law enforcement has declined to say exactly when the boy died. Erks is now 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. Investigation and ArrestErks was arrested after a multi-state, multi-agency investigation.On Monday, June 23, 2025 at 6:48 a.m., the Gage County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation into a report of child abuse resulting in significant injury in Liberty. The sheriff’s office was notified of a five-year-old male who was unresponsive and in care at a hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. Deputies and investigators were able to determine the child had been taken to the hospital in Marysville, Kansas, then emergency transported to the hospital in Kansas City for specialized care.Gage County deputies and investigators worked with detectives from the Kansas City Police Department and officers of the Marysville Police Department to obtain evidence during this case and developed Liberty resident Timothy Lee Erks as a suspect. A search warrant was executed at Erks residence outside of Liberty later in the day on June 23, however Erks was not at the residence. A deputy observed Erks in a vehicle on Highway 8 outside of Liberty and conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle. He was then interviewed by deputies and an investigator and subsequently arrested for child abuse resulting in injury and first degree assault.According to investigators, the boy's one-and-a-half year old sister is also a victim.Erks was taken to the Gage County Detention Center and booked into jail. Criminal RecordErks 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. Next StepsErks has not yet entered a plea. Because the charges are felonies, he is entitled to a preliminary hearing, which is scheduled for July 31, 2025.Bond was originally set at $1 million (10 percent). That was changed to a no-bond hold after the boy died.Erks remains in custody as of press time.

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