Kidnapping suspect pleads not guilty to Hall County rape charges

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — An Arizona man accused of kidnapping a Utah boy and driving to Grand Island has pleaded not guilty to five criminal charges.

26-year-old Tadashi Kojima entered the pleas in Hall County District Court on Tuesday. He initially faced kidnapping charges, but those were changed to three counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child and one third-degree sexual assault of a child charge. He is also charged with resisting arrest.

The charges stem from an incident in December. 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.

Kojima is due back in court for a pretrial hearing on May 8. A jury trial is scheduled to start June 12.