Spain native pleads guilty to lesser charge in Mason City sexual abuse case

MASON CITY — A Spaniard charged with sexual abuse in a Mason City case has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.

21-year-old Federico Alejandro Figuerredo Gimenez of Madrid, Spain, was arrested in early April and charged with third-degree sexual abuse, a Class C felony punishable by up to ten years in prison.

A criminal complaint states that Gimenez grabbed the victim and forced sexual contact while in campus housing on the North Iowa Area Community College campus in the early morning hours of March 31st.

As part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, Gimenez has pleaded guilty to the amended charge of assault causing mental distress, a serious misdemeanor. Prosecutors will recommend a deferred judgment and that Gimenez be placed on one year probation. The parties will also stipulate that the offense was not sexually motivated.

A sentencing date has not been set.