Additional child sexual assault charges brought against kidnapping suspect

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — An Arizona man accused of kidnapping a Utah boy and driving him to Grand Island now faces sexual assault charges in Nebraska.

Court documents show the Hall County Attorney’s Office changed the charges against 26-year-old Tadashi Kojima last week. Instead of facing kidnapping and resisting arrest charges, he is now charged with three counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child and one count of third-degree sexual assault of a child. A county judge found probable cause for the charges and the case was bound over to district court.

According to court documents, authorities believe Kojima, also known as Aaron Zeman, had been exchanging sexually explicit messages with a 13-year-old boy from Layton, Utah. He picked up the boy in December, prompting an AMBER alert. 

About a day and a half later, a man at the Git ’N Split in south Grand Island called police about a suspicious vehicle. Officers responded, identified the boy and arrested Kojima. Police say the boy told officers that Kojima had engaged in multiple incidents of illegal sexual contact with him.

Kojima also faces four federal charges including kidnapping and production of child porn.

His next court hearing is set for March 7. He is being held in the Hall County Jail on $1 million bond.