Police: Iowa City man called protected party more than 900 times from jail

IOWA CITY - A man accused of assaulting a teenager earlier this year is now accused of trying to contact her more than 900 times while he was in jail.

According to Iowa City police criminal complaints, officers were called to Walmart, 919 Highway 1 W., on March 17 for a fight in progress. Officers met with a 17-year-old female and Isidore Nagueza, who is now 20. The teen told police Nagueza hit her multiple times, put his hands around her neck and pulled her earring out while they were inside a car.

When the teen attempted to flee, Nagueza grabbed her by the hair and neck and pulled her back into the vehicle, police said.

Nagueza was arrested and initially faced charges of assault causing serious injury and false imprisonment. According to online court records, those two charges were dismissed as part of a plea arrangement earlier this month and Nagueza pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily injury. He was sentenced to community service and granted a suspended jail sentence, according to court records. Nagueza was also ordered to a residential treatment facility once a bed was available.

As part of his sentencing, a no contact order that was put in place at the time of Nagueza's arrest was extended for five years. However, according to new criminal complaints, Nagueza contacted the victim 941 times from jail after his arrest. Police said Nagueza called the victim 126 times after he was sentenced and 13 times on May 23 alone.

Capt. Bill Deatsch, administrator for the Johnson County Jail, said the sheriff's office has the capability of blocking inmate calls to certain numbers, but that didn't happen in this case.

'Unfortunately, we didn't realize he was calling this victim,” Deatsch said. 'It didn't get blocked.”

Deatsch said there are inmates 'who are on the phone a lot,” but said the volume of calls from Nagueza was 'really out there.” Nagueza has now been blocked from calling the teen using the jail's phone system, Deatsch said.

'I wish we would have known so we could have gotten that blocked earlier,” he said.

The victim told an investigator she is scared of Nagueza and 'under his control,” police said.

Nagueza now faces 14 counts of contempt for violating the protective order.

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