Iowa City man accused of recording sexual assaults pleads not guilty

IOWA CITY - An Iowa City man facing 40 charges relating to accusations that he recorded himself having sex acts with an intoxicated and incapacitated woman has pleaded not guilty.

Nathan Schloss, 23, entered a written plea of not guilty Friday to 18 counts of third-degree sexual abuse and 22 counts of invasion of privacy. His arraignment had been scheduled for Friday afternoon.

A trial date has not yet been set, according to online court records.

Schloss was arrested in December after the Iowa City Police Department discovered the alleged sexual abuse while investigating an animal 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 the woman was 'incapacitated” in the videos and had no idea she was being recorded. Assistant Johnson County attorney Dana Christiansen said last month the woman was intoxicated, but offered no other details on the case.

The videos depict Schloss touching and, in some cases, penetrating the woman, police said. According to criminal complaints, the earliest incident occurred on May 13, 2012 and continued until September 8, 2013.

While Schloss' 40 current charges are related to a single victim, police said last month they believe the man had 'multiple” victims and they are searching for more.

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.”

Schloss is out of custody on bond. He has been ordered not to have any contact with the alleged victim.