Court of Appeals overturns Cedar Rapids sex abuse conviction based on judge's error

A Cedar Rapids man's guilty plea and sentencing was overturned Wednesday by the Iowa Court of Appeals because he wasn't informed by a district judge of a special sentence of lifetime parole for sex offenders.

Bernard Nyabugulu, 60, originally from Africa, made an Alford plea to one count of lascivious acts with a child in 2010 and was sentenced in April 2011 to 10 years in prison. He sexually abused a 10-year-old girl, his friends' daughter, in May 2010, according to court documents.

Nyabugulu, through a Swahili interpreter, pleaded guilty to the charge but wasn't told about the lifetime parole he would have to serve after his prison term, he claimed in the appeal. The court didn't comply with the rules of criminal procedure, which requires a defendant to be informed of the mandatory minimum and possible maximum punishment, he stated.

Sixth Judicial District Senior Judge Thomas Horan, who accepted the plea, didn't informed Nyabugulu of the special sentence, which is required by law, according to the ruling.

The conviction and sentencing was vacated and the case was remanded back to the district court.