Teacher and Her Boyfriend Accused of Sex Trafficking a Student in Nebraska By Charlotte Phillipp

A Nebraska teacher and her boyfriend have been arrested and charged with sex trafficking a student.

According to the Holdrege Police Department, 36-year-old Elizabeth Love and Jarid “Jack” Krause, 43, were arrested on Friday, Oct. 24. They are charged with one count each of sex trafficking a minor. Love also faces one count of sexual grooming by a school employee.

Love, who goes by her middle name Jamie, is a transition coordinator and teacher of the deaf at Education Service Unit 11, or ESU-11, which helps to oversee public schools in southern Nebraska, per local outlet Nebraska-TV.

“The investigation into Ms. Love and Mr. Krause began after a current high school student, whom Ms. Love was instructing through her employment … reported inappropriate interactions with the couple over the past few weeks,” police wrote in a press release.

According to an arrest affidavit obtained by PEOPLE, a Holdrege police officer was first alerted to a report of possible sexual abuse involving a 16-year-old student on Oct. 14.

During a forensic interview, the student explained that she had worked with Love since she was a seventh grader, and “they have developed a close relationship which has evolved into talking about things going on in [her] life beyond the normal scope of a speech therapist/educator,” per the affidavit.

The student also told investigators that at one point she had potential plans to move in with Love during the weekdays so she could attend school in another district, and she had corresponded with Love via text, Facebook Messenger and non-school email addresses, per the court document.

During one August 2025 incident, the student recalled being in Love’s car, during which she had a phone conversation with Krause. During the phone call, Krause allegedly said he wanted to have to have sex with Love, and Love later told the student that she “would be willing to share” him, per the affidavit.

Although the student was supposed to attend the State Fair with Love on that occasion, the conversation made her so “uncomfortable” that she called her aunt to pick her up, per the document.

On another occasion, which allegedly took place on Oct. 11, Love allegedly picked the student up from her house and took her to her own home. The student alleged that while she was there, Krause led her to an upstairs bedroom and made a request she believed was for sex.

The student, who is only identified by initials in the court document, said she declined Krause’s request and asked to leave.

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A police sergeant wrote that investigators then reviewed security camera footage of the student walking home, as Love followed her via car. The student eventually got in the vehicle and Love took her the rest of the way home.

Forensic investigators later obtained phone records that included text messages between Love and the student, asking her to “come back and talk to me.”

The affidavit also notes that the student told investigators Love apologized to her. The educator then allegedly told her not to tell anyone about the incident, and gave her $100 in $20 increments. In a later interview with law enforcement, Love said that the money was not intended as “hush money,” but was meant to be a gift to help the student purchase a cell phone.

Further text messages obtained by law enforcement show that Love and Krause spoke about the student as early as April, before seemingly planning to proposition the student for sex in August and see “if she’s not feeling it,” per the affidavit. The two discussed coming up with a “code phrase” to use that “will help [Love] know if she’s interested or not.”

In other text conversations referenced in the affidavit, Love tells Krause she hopes the proposition “works out,” noting, “if she doesn’t want to, then I’ll keep looking.”

Krause also refers to “[finding] our person” in a conversation with Love, per the affidavit, writing: “We’ll find the girl that appreciates us for what we are and provide. Someone who sees the value of our family and one that loves us both more than anything.” Love then asks Krause if they should “start the paperwork for foster care.”

“He asks her, ‘Do you think it’s time for that? It’s a huge risk. We might not find the right girl for us,'” Krause wrote, per the court document. “She tells him, ‘I know. But I also don’t have to take them all. Even though I want to. Haha.’ ”

The Holdrege Police Department said in its statement that officers are “interested in speaking with anyone who has any additional information about this current allegation or who may have had prior interactions with Ms. Love or Mr. Krause.”

The investigation is still ongoing, the department noted, although officials said they are not aware of any other inappropriate interactions with students.

“Anyone with any additional information about Ms. Love and/or Mr. Krause, that may be pertinent to this case or prior contacts with either of them that they now find to be unusual or suspicious, are urged to contact the Holdrege Police Department at (308) 995-4407,” the statement added.

Love and Krause are being held in the Phelps County Jail on $250,000 cash bonds. If convicted, they could face life in prison and mandatory lifetime registration as sex offenders.

The pair’s first court appearance is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 27.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.