Nathan Schloss faces 10 years in sex abuse investigation

IOWA CITY - Nathan Schloss will spend up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty Monday to charges he recorded himself sexually abusing a woman multiple times over the course of several months.

The former University of Iowa student initially faced 40 charges - 18 counts of sexual abuse and 22 counts of invasion of privacy over a period of about 15 months - and police warned there could be 'multiple victims.”

But he was never charged with abusing any other victims, and the plea deal he entered Monday was for far fewer charges spanning a shorter time frame.

Schloss, 26, pleaded guilty to five counts of invasion of privacy and one new charge, assault causing serious injury, a Class D felony.

Schloss was arrested in December 2014 and accused of sexually abusing the same woman multiple times starting in May 2012. Authorities said the victim was intoxicated at the time and had no idea she had been abused.

Schloss' actions were discovered when he turned over a hard drive to police as part of their investigation into the abuse of his cat, Fritz, by Schloss' roommate at the time. Police said they uncovered videos depicting a woman lying naked in bed either asleep or passed out and Schloss engaging in sexual activity with her.

During Monday's hearing in front of 6th Judicial District Judge Paul Miller, Schloss, accompanied by his attorneys, J. Dean Keegan and Thomas Farnsworth, did not speak except to provide 'yes” and 'no” responses to Miller's questions.

The judge asked Schloss if he admitted to making 'offensive contact” with a woman and if that contact resulted in a 'disabling mental illness.”

'Yes, your honor,” he replied.

Under the plea agreement, which covers a period of May 2013 to November 2013, Schloss will be sentenced to up to five years for the assault charge and up to one year for each of the individual invasion of privacy charges. The sentences will run consecutively for a period of up to 10 years.

Schloss will be forced to register as a sex offender for 10 years and will be on probation for 10 years following his prison sentence.

First Assistant Johnson County Attorney Dana Christiansen said the plea arrangement came after discussions with the County Attorney's office and the victim, who approved of making a plea arrangement.

Christiansen said it is sometimes necessary to explore 'whether there's a way to achieve justice short of going to trial.”

'It's a difficult case and, after much discussion, this is where we ended up,” he said.

Farnsworth said after the hearing that neither he nor his client would comment until after sentencing, which will be at a later date.

l Comments: (319) 398-8238; lee.hermiston@thegazette.com