Man sentenced to probation, special sentence on sex abuse of teenager

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

A Clear Lake man who pleaded guilty in December to sexually abusing a teenager 9½ years ago in Nora Springs has been placed on probation for up to five years and placed under state supervision for life.

Chris Claude Ott, now age 34, was charged with third-degree sexual abuse, a Class C felony, for performing a sex act with a person age 14 or 15 in the spring or summer of 2010. Ott was age 25 at the time.

Ott admitted to the act in a written guilty plea agreement filed in Floyd County District Court last month.

As part of the agreement, Ott pleaded guilty to the original charge and the Floyd County Attorney’s Office agreed to not advocate for any particular sentence and to not resist the recommendation of a presentence investigation if it recommended probation.

District Court Judge DeDra Schroeder handed down the sentence Tuesday.

Schroeder sentenced Ott to up to 10 years in prison, fully suspended, and fined him $1,000 plus the statutory surcharge of 35%, suspended, plus various other fees.

By being convicted of a sexually related Class C felony, Ott was also sentenced to what Iowa calls a “special sentence,” meaning that for the rest of his life he will be under the supervision of the Iowa Department of Corrections as if on parole.

Ott will also be required to register on the Iowa sexual offender registry and pay restitution to the victim in an amount to be certified within 30 days.

Schroeder set a hearing for March 2 to determine if Ott is able to pay restitution, court costs and attorney’s fees, among other fees and charges.