Floyd County man dies in prison; was serving sentence on sexual abuse charge

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

An inmate from Floyd County serving a 25-year sentence for sexual assault on a young girl has died in prison, the Iowa Department of Corrections reported on Sunday. No foul play was suspected.

Ronald James Calvert, age 77, formerly of Nora Springs, was pronounced dead due to “an unexpected medical emergency” a little before noon on Saturday, Dec. 26, at the Newton Correctional Facility, the state report said.

An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death.

Calvert had been charged in December 2013 with eight counts of sexual abuse after a 16-year-old girl told a Nora Springs school counselor that she had been sexually assaulted by Calvert “for the past six to seven years,” and that Calvert had repeatedly told her to not tell anybody what he did.

Calvert pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree sexual abuse, a Class B felony, for an assault that took place in 2009 when the girl was under the age of 12. As part of the plea, the county agreed to recommend a prison term not to exceed 25 years and dismiss the other seven charges.

Calvert was sentenced in Floyd County District Court on May 5, 2014, to not more than 25 years in prison and to register as a sex offender for life. His prison sentence began the next day, on May 6. He had been scheduled to be released on March 24, 2035.