NEBRASKA CITY – A Nebraska City school teacher, who is accused of abusing a student in her life skills class, is contesting the legality of an audio recording the student made while at school. 

District Judge Julie Smith scheduled a May 19 hearing on the defense motion to suppress evidence. 

Court records say the defense asserts that the audio recordings were illegally obtained in violation of Nebraska and federal law. 

The defense also asserts that admission of the audio recordings at trial would violate the Sixth and 14th amendment rights of the teacher, Melissa Valenta, to confront the witness. 

Defense attorney William Bianco said he would wait until the court hearing for specifics, but his motion says the audio recordings can not be authenticated and lack the foundation to be evidence in this case. 

He said the audio recordings do not incriminate the teacher, but an attempt to introduce them at trial would unduly prejudice the defendant. 

Valenta earlier entered a not guilty plea. Bianco noted that Valenta has nearly three decades in teaching with no incidents. 

Otoe County Attorney Jennifer Panko-Rahe earlier dropped misdemeanor charges against two para-educators assigned to the life skills class. Panko-Rahe referenced the audio recording taken by the student in saying inappropriate things happened in the class.  

Panko-Rahe: “Terribly mean” things were said to the student. 

There are a variety of voices on the recording at the gym class. 

An arrest affidavit that was used to support the charges against the teacher does not identify all the voices on the recording.

The defense has also asked the judge to subpoena Omaha and Lincoln media outlets, who produced interviews with the student’s mother regarding the alleged abuse. Police say the mother placed the recorder in the student’s pocket before school because she was concerned about negative changes in his behavior. 

 https://rivercountry.newschannelnebraska.com/story/48675231/charges-dropped-against-paras-in-nebraska-city-life-skills-scandal