State v. Coates, A-21-098

Defendant Nicholas A. Coates was charged initially with child enticement and possession of a controlled substance; he pled no contest pursuant to an amended information to one count of attempted first‑degree sexual assault (Class IIA felony).
Facts: Coates communicated online with someone he believed was a 14‑year‑old female, requested sexual acts, law enforcement assumed the account, arranged a meeting, observed Coates purchase condoms, and arrested him at the meeting; a sex toy and new condoms were found in his vehicle.
At sentencing the court received a presentence report showing extensive adult criminal history, a high risk to reoffend, and disclosure that Coates had been sexually abused as a child; Coates expressed remorse and sought treatment.
The district court sentenced Coates to 8–10 years’ imprisonment (within the 0–20 year statutory range) and credited 342 days served.
On appeal Coates argued the sentence was excessive and that trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by (1) failing to depose the victim (A.M.) and (2) failing to obtain psychosexual and substance‑abuse evaluations before sentencing.

Issue	Appellant (Coates) Argument	Appellee (State) Argument	Held
Excessive sentence	Court failed to give proper weight to plea, comparable case, and rehabilitation needs; sentence too harsh	Sentence within statutory limits; court considered sentencing factors, criminal history, risk, and public protection; comparing other cases irrelevant	Affirmed — no abuse of discretion; sentence appropriate
Ineffective assistance — failure to depose victim	Counsel ignored defendant’s request to depose A.M.; deposition could have aided plea negotiations and sentencing by showing victim’s willingness to communicate	Communications and victim interviews were already in police reports and PSI; consent/willingness not a defense to § 28‑319(1)(c); no specific mitigating testimony identified	Rejected — no deficient performance or no prejudice shown; claim fails
Ineffective assistance — failure to obtain psychosexual/substance evaluations	Counsel should have obtained psychosexual (and claimed substance) evaluations for mitigation given Coates’s history of childhood sexual abuse	Court knew of abuse history from PSI and Coates’s statement at sentencing; additional evaluations would have been cumulative; appellant does not show what new, mitigating info would result	Rejected — no prejudice shown; claim fails

State v. Lierman, 305 Neb. 289 (2020) (standard for reviewing sentence and abuse of discretion)
State v. Blaha, 303 Neb. 415 (2019) (ineffective assistance on direct appeal; limits after guilty/no contest plea)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (two‑prong ineffective assistance test: deficiency and prejudice)
State v. Campbell, 239 Neb. 14 (1991) (consent or mistake as to age not a defense under Nebraska child sexual assault statute)
State v. Albers, 276 Neb. 942 (2008) (comparative sentencing across different cases is not controlling; focus is appropriateness in the case at bar)
State v. Theisen, 306 Neb. 591 (2020) (when record suffices to resolve ineffective‑assistance claims on direct appeal)
State v. Casares, 291 Neb. 150 (2015) (presentence report can render additional evaluations cumulative and not required)
State v. Sundquist, 301 Neb. 1006 (2019) (assignment and argument requirements for appellate review)