28-1301. Human skeletal remains or burial goods; prohibited acts; penalty.

(1) The definitions found in section 12-1204 shall apply to this section.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, a person commits the offense of removing, abandoning, or concealing human skeletal remains or burial goods if he or she:

(a) Knowingly digs up, disinters, removes, or carries away from its place of deposit or burial any such remains or goods, attempts to do the same, or aids, incites, assists, encourages, or procures the same to be done;

(b) Knowingly throws away or abandons any such remains or goods in any place other than a regular place for burial and under a proper death certificate issued under section 38-811 or 71-605; or

(c) Receives, conceals, purchases, sells, transports, trades, or disposes of any such remains or goods if the person knows or has reason to know that such remains or goods have been dug up, disinterred, or removed from their place of deposit or burial or have not been reported in a proper death certificate issued under section 38-811 or 71-605, attempts to do the same, or aids, incites, assists, encourages, or procures the same to be done.

(3) This section shall not apply to: (a) A body authorized to be surrendered for purposes of dissection as provided by law; (b) the body of any person directed to be delivered by competent authority for purposes of dissection; (c) the officers of any lawfully constituted cemetery acting under the direction of the board of trustees in removing any human skeletal remains or burial goods from one place of burial in the cemetery to another place in the same cemetery when disinterment and reinterment permits are secured and return made pursuant to section 71-605; (d) any person removing the human skeletal remains or burial goods of a relative or intimate friend from one place of burial in any lawfully constituted cemetery to another when consent for such removal has been obtained from the lawfully constituted authority thereof and permits for disinterment and reinterment secured and return made pursuant to section 71-605; (e) any professional archaeologist engaged in an otherwise lawful and scholarly excavation of a nonburial site who unintentionally encounters human skeletal remains or associated burial goods if the archaeologist complies with the notification requirements of the Unmarked Human Burial Sites and Skeletal Remains Protection Act; or (f) any archaeological excavation by the Nebraska State Historical Society or its designee in the course of execution of the duties of the society if any human skeletal remains or associated burial goods discovered during such excavation are disposed of pursuant to section 12-1208.

(4) Violation of this section shall be a Class IV felony.

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