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A Holdrege, Nebraska, teacher and her boyfriend were arrested on allegations they sex trafficked a high school student, police said.
According to the Holdrege Police Department, 36-year-old Elizabeth Jamie Love and 43-year-old Jarid “Jack” Krause each face a single count of sex trafficking a minor. Love is also charged with sexual grooming by a school employee.
The arrests stem from a warrant and criminal complaint filed by the Phelps County Attorney’s Office following a police investigation.
Police said the investigation began after a student Love taught as a transition coordinator reported inappropriate interactions with the couple.
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Love also teaches students who are deaf at Education Service Unit 11, which serves several schools across southern Nebraska.
According to an arrest affidavit first reported by People magazine, police were alerted on Oct. 14 to possible sexual abuse involving a 16-year-old student.
During a forensic interview, the student said she had worked with Love since seventh grade and that “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,” according to the affidavit.
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Investigators said the student once planned to stay with Love on weekends to attend school in another district. They also exchanged messages through text, Facebook and non-school email accounts, according to court documents.
In August 2025, the student said she was in Love’s car when Krause called. During the call, Krause allegedly said he wanted to have sex with Love, and Love allegedly told the student she “would be willing to share” him, the affidavit stated.
The exchange made the student “uncomfortable,” and she asked her aunt to pick her up, according to the affidavit.
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On Oct. 11, Love allegedly picked the student up from her home and brought her to her own house. There, Krause allegedly led her to an upstairs bedroom and made a request she believed was sexual. The student said she declined and asked to leave.
Police said surveillance footage showed the student walking home as Love followed in her car before picking her up and driving her home.
Investigators also reviewed phone records showing messages from Love asking the student to “come back and talk to me.”
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Love also allegedly urged the student not to tell anyone, giving her $100 in $20 bills. When questioned, Love told police the money was not “hush money,” but a gift to help the student buy a cellphone.
Investigators said additional messages from April showed Love and Krause discussing the student months before the alleged proposition, including a “code phrase” to “help [Love] know if she’s interested or not.”
Love also reportedly told Krause she hoped the proposition “works out,” noting, “if she doesn’t want to, then I’ll keep looking.”
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Police also allege that Krause spoke about “[finding] our person” in messages with Love, according to the affidavit. “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,” he wrote.
Love then asked 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,’” the document states. “She tells him, ‘I know. But I also don’t have to take them all. Even though I want to. Haha.’”
Both are being held in the Phelps County Jail on $250,000 cash bonds, with no option for surety.
If convicted, they face up to life in prison and lifetime registration on the Nebraska Sex Offender Registry.
Police said the investigation is ongoing and that they are not aware of any other inappropriate interactions with current or former students.
Anyone with information about the allegations or prior interactions with Love or Krause that seem suspicious is urged to contact Holdrege police at 308-995-4407.
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