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A security guard at Omaha Northwest High School has been charged with possession of child pornography and child enticement after he allegedly made sexual comments to and initiated a relationship with a 16-year-old student. 

According to an affidavit, a 16-year-old female student at Northwest was reported missing by a parent on Feb. 17. The parent told officers that she may be with Joshua Higgs, a 29-year-old contracted school security guard. 

Officers were able to contact the girl via phone, at which point she advised that she was in a car with Higgs. According to the affidavit, she exited the vehicle and began to walk home after learning that she had been reported missing. 

In an interview conducted that night, the girl said Higgs told her not to tell law enforcement about him or his vehicle. He also allegedly told her to delete their messages. The girl told officers that the two had been messaging since the day prior and Higgs had made sexual comments and remarks about wanting to date her. 

The girl's parents gave police permission to search her phone, which officials say revealed multiple inappropriate messages on Snapchat and Facebook Messenger. Officials said the conversations showed Higgs making sexual comments about the girl and asking her for photos of herself in underwear, which she sent. 

With this information, according to the affidavit, a search warrant was obtained for Higgs' Snapchat and Facebook Messenger accounts. Police found three photos of the girl in underwear and various graphic descriptions of sex acts sent to the girl by Higgs. 

Higgs has been charged with three felonies: possession of child pornography, witness tampering and enticing a child via electronic communication device. 

At his first court appearance Thursday, Higgs' bail was set at $50,000. He must pay 10% of that, or $5,000, to be released. He is scheduled to appear in court again next month for a preliminary hearing. 

See how your hometown ranks among the most dangerous cities in Nebraska. Ratings have been determined according to the number of violent crimes per 1,000 people in cities of at least 10,000, with violent crime being classified as murder, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault. The numbers are for 2019, the most recent year for which the FBI provides data.

With 30 violent crimes in 2019 and a population of 12,771 (the smallest on our list), the city in northeast Nebraska had 2.35 violent crimes per 1,000 people.

Photo: An RV park in South Sioux City on the Missouri River. 

The city of 15,862 had 53 violent crimes for a rate of 3.34 per 1,000 in 2019.

Photo: Gering Police Officer Jordan McBride talks with Scottsbluff Police Officer Michael Modeac as he puts up crime scene tape at the scene of an armed standoff in Scottsbluff in June 2021. 

With a population of 23,705 and 89 violent crimes, the city had a rate of 3.75 per 1,000.

Photo: Union Pacific train engines line up outside a service building in North Platte.

The Star City had a population of 291,128 with 1,115 violent crimes, a rate of 3.83 per 1,000.

Photo: Police in Lincoln investigate a shooting near the intersection of 14th and E streets in August 2019. 

With a population of 51,821 and 236 violent crimes, the largest of the Tri Cities had a 2019 rate of 4.55 per 1,000 people.

Photo: Grand Island police and State Patrol personnel investigate after a body was found in a Grand Island yard in August 2020. 

In 2019, the state's largest city at 470,481 people had 2,833 violent crimes for a rate of 6.13 per 1,000.

Photo: Omaha police and University Police guard the entrance to the Nebraska Medicine Emergency room after an Omaha police officer was shot at Westroads Mall in March 2021. 

With eight violent crimes in 2019, Boys Town topped the state at 13.82 per 1,000 people, which is a misleading stat because it only had a 2019 population of 579.

Photo: The statue at the entrance to Boys Town. It doesn't take much to skew the numbers. 

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In Nebraska, city and village clerks charged for theft or violating public resources over the past decade, plus another who took money but wasn’t charged, stole an estimated $1.7 million from 17 small towns.

The state found he used $14,000 in city funds to buy personal items such as fishing equipment. 

The pilot told deputies that the plane had engine trouble before crashing into trees on a bluff. 

An Omaha man was ticketed on suspicion of theft of services after someone noticed a garden hose running from a city fire hydrant to a backyard pool. 

A video circulating on social media appears to show the arrest of a boy whose head is forcefully pushed against an Omaha police cruiser.

A man, who lives at the residence, was found dead in an above-ground pool at about 4 a.m.

A 19-year-old from Springfield died when the pickup truck he was driving crashed near Plattsmouth.

The Dodge Caravan was traveling westbound on I-80 in Deuel County when it was hit.

Judge Leigh Ann Retelsdorf told defendant Marshaun Box there was "overwhelming evidence" that indicated he helped plan the robberies that led to the death of one man and left another injured.

Officers found 35-year-old William Polland, who was armed, with an unregistered gun.

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