A 46-year-old man will spend up to 40 years in prison for attacking a woman inside an elevator at a downtown Lincoln parking garage. A Lancaster County judge sentenced Joshua Love Tuesday to consecutive prison terms of 19 to 20 years on each of two counts, for a total sentence of 38 to 40 years.
Love pleaded no contest in September and was found guilty of attempted first-degree sexual assault and possession of a controlled substance. The attack happened June 11, 2025, inside an elevator at the Cornhusker Square Garage near 12th and L streets.
“Officers interviewed witnesses on the scene who told them they had heard the 43-year-old woman screaming inside an elevator on the second floor and pried it open,” LPD Public Information Manager Erika Thomas said after the incident.
Thomas says the woman was found on the elevator floor, while the suspect ran from the building. “Once both were inside the moving elevator, Love threatened her, choked her and grabbed her private parts underneath her clothing,” Thomas said. Officers located Love about a block away and arrested him without incident.
Investigators also recovered a backpack believed to belong to Love. Thomas says it contained duct tape, rope, gloves and cocaine. The original charges of assault by strangulation or suffocation and possession of a controlled substance were dismissed as part of an amended plea agreement.
(Joshua Love photo: Lancaster County Sheriff)