Iowa City man accused of sexual abuse faces 22 new charges

IOWA CITY - Make it 40 charges against the Iowa City man accused of sexually abusing an incapacitated woman and recording it.

According to trial information filed Monday, 23-year-old Nathan Schloss now faces 22 counts of invasion of privacy in addition to the previous 18 counts of third-degree sexual abuse. Invasion of privacy is a serious misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail. The sexual abuse charges each carry a potential 10-year sentence.

There are six invasion of privacy charges that do not correspond with a sexual abuse charge. In those instances, it appears as though Schloss made recordings of the woman, but did not abuse her. Assistant Johnson County attorney Dana Christiansen declined to comment on that aspect of the case.

'I think that's the only conclusion you can draw,” he said.

Christiansen did, however, indicate that alcohol might have been a factor in the woman's abuse.

'This appears to have been incapacitation by intoxication,” he said.

Christiansen said he could not discuss any other details of the case, including how the woman became intoxicated.

The Iowa City Police Department said earlier this month they discovered the alleged sexual abuse while investigating a torture case involving Schloss' roommate, Leo A. Nopoulos, and his pet cat, Fritz. Police said while investigating that incident, they found videos of Schloss committing sexual abuse against a woman.

Police said that in almost all cases, the victim was incapacitated and had no idea the abuse occurred. While police have said they believe Schloss had 'multiple” victims and are searching for more, only one has been identified and accounts for the 18 original charges.

According to the criminal complaints relating to the sexual abuse allegations, the earliest incident occurred on May 13, 2012 and continued until September 8, 2013. Police said Schloss is shown in the videos touching and - on multiple occasions - penetrating the victim or rubbing himself on her.

The criminal complaints indicate that in at least one case, investigators had to tell the woman she was sexually assaulted.

'The victim has never seen this video and was unaware this ever happened,” a complaint reads.

Another complaint states that the alleged victim is seen on video waking up in the middle of the abuse and repeatedly telling Schloss to get off her. This incident is alleged to have occurred on April 27, 2013. Schloss is accused of abusing the woman again just over a week later on May 5, 2013.

Schloss allegedly told police that in each instance, the woman in the video knew about the sexual contact and was aware she was being recorded.

'The victim is clearly incapacitated,” a number of complaints read.

The alleged assaults occurred at three locations, according to criminal complaints. Four alleged assaults occurred at Schloss' residence and eight are alleged to have occurred at his previous residence on Gilbert Street. Six incidents are alleged to have occurred at an Iowa City residence referred to as 'her apartment.”

According to online court records, Schloss posted a $54,000 surety bond Tuesday morning and promised to appear for his next court date. His arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 9.

Schloss has been ordered not to have any contact with his alleged victim and not travel outside of the state without permission from the court.

According to court records, Nopoulos has pleaded not guilty to animal torture and is scheduled to go to trial Feb. 10.