Iowa Court of Appeals affirms Elma man’s sexual abuse conviction in Floyd County

DES MOINES — A Howard County man convicted of sexual abuse in Floyd County has lost an appeal of his conviction.

62-year-old Randy Nibaur was arrested in March of last year on one count of second-degree sexual abuse, a Class B felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison. A criminal complaint stated that Nibaur sexually assaulted a child under the age of five at least three times while babysitting at his apartment in Charles City between November 2018 and August 2021.

As part of a plea agreement, Nibaur filed an Alford plea to one count of third-degree sexual abuse, a Class C felony. With an Alford plea, a person does not admit guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence for a likely conviction. Nibaur was sentenced in January to ten years in prison.

Nibaur later filed an appeal, arguing his conviction should be reversed because no factual basis existed for his guilty plea and that he did not knowingly plead guilty. He also argues the district court abused its discretion by sentencing him to a prison term.

The Iowa Court of Appeals this week affirmed his conviction, saying they did not have the authority to reach the merits of Nibaur’s challenges and they found no abuse of discretion in the district court’s sentencing decision.