[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] The husband of the Nebraska teacher accused of having sex with one of her students has been revealed as a Harvard-educated deputy at the Department of Defense.Erin Ward, 45, was charged with one count of felony sexual abuse by a school employee after she was found naked with the high school boy, 17, in her husband's car.
Now, DailyMail.com can reveal her husband is a high-ranking US government employee who has worked with the Department of Defense for nearly two decades.
William Douglas 'Doug' Ward, 53, was appointed Deputy Director of the Commander's Action Group and Senior Nuclear Deterrence Advisor at the United States Strategic Command in February.
His LinkedIn shows he worked with the Strategic Command since 2005 and initially served as a Deputy Branch Chief.
The Strategic Command, which is headquartered in Omaha, is a military unit that detects and deters attacks against the country and its allies.
In addition to his impressive job title, Doug graduated from the Harvard Extension School in 2021 with a master's degree in political science and government.
The father of three posted a photo dressed in his cap and gown to X, formerly Twitter, as he attended a virtual graduation ceremony during the pandemic.
The couple share a home in Gretna, just outside Omaha, with their three teenage children.
Their adopted daughter is a 10th grade student around the same age as the boy Ward is charged with abusing.
The 45-year-old worked as a substitute teacher at several metro area schools. It was at Burke she met the teenage boy with whom she was found in the early-morning hours of April 13.
Around 3 a.m., Douglas County deputies were called to investigate a suspicious car parked on a dead-end road.
There, they found Ward and the victim inside a Honda Pilot 'determined to be owned by Ward and her spouse,' the Douglas County Sheriff's Office wrote in a press release.
The 17-year-old jumped into the drivers seat and sped off in the SUV, crashing into a yard two blocks away. He then fled on foot, wearing only a t-shirt, boxers and socks, and was found about an hour later.
Ward was getting dressed in the back seat when deputies approached.
They recovered an Omaha Public Schools employee ID from inside the car. Ward confirmed she was a substitute teacher at Burke, where the teen was enrolled, and admitted to having sexual intercourse with him.
As the age of consent in Nebraska is 16, Ward was not charged with statutory rape, but faces a Class IIA felony charge carrying up to 20 years in prison.