CRIME & COURTS

Sex abuse case dismissed against former Valley High athlete

Kim Norvell
knorvell@dmreg.com

The criminal case against a former Valley High School athlete accused of sexually abusing a mentally disabled woman has been dismissed at the request of Polk County prosecutors.

Justice

A Polk County judge dismissed with prejudice a felony sex abuse charge against 18-year-old Nicholas Fifield. Prosecutors requested the charge be dismissed after determining the woman Fifield was accused of abusing is unable to assist in the case because of her mental health.

A dismissal with prejudice means prosecutors can't refile charges, effectively closing the case.

The dismissal came just days after the judge told prosecutors they had failed to provide adequate health records or expert testimony that proved the woman's mental condition rendered her unable to consent to sex.

Fifield's father, Jay, told the Register on Wednesday the system failed both his son and woman involved in the case.

"My wife and I and our son … have had our lives changed forever, but we're very grateful that the charges have been dismissed, and it's time for us to figure out a way to move forward and heal," he said.

Nicholas Fifield can apply to have his record expunged in 180 days under Iowa law passed last year, which his attorney, Montgomery Brown, indicated they intend to do.

Fifield was a 17-year-old Valley student on the tennis team when he was charged in January 2016 with third-degree felony sex abuse of a person "suffering from a mental defect or incapacity, which precludes giving consent."

The teen faced, among other punishment, being placed on Iowa’s sex offender registry if he had been convicted in the December 2015 incident involving an 18-year-old group home resident he met on an online dating site.

The woman, whom the Register is not naming because of the sexual abuse allegation, told police Fifield took her to his Windsor Heights home and made her perform sex acts though she reportedly said "no" many times.

But additional police investigative records provided by a public relations firm hired by Fifield's parents showed the woman changed her story. At one point, a group home staff member where the woman lives said she told a nurse she let Fifield kiss and touch her.

Fifield and his attorney do not deny that sexual contact occurred, but they contend it was consensual and that the two were boyfriend and girlfriend.

The case gained notoriety when it was featured in the Register's Reader's Watchdog column after other Valley parents questioned the one-meet suspension Fifield received as school punishment while his father, Jay Fifield, was the tennis coach.

Fifield's father and attorney told the Register on Wednesday that the system failed Nicholas Fifield and the woman, beginning with the police investigation and continuing through the 15 months in which prosecutors did not have an expert evaluate the woman's mental health.

Prosecutors had listed her as a testifying witness for as long as the case had been active before abruptly declaring she was unable to assist with her own case, Brown said.

MORE ON CASE:

Judge Robert Blink wrote in a Feb. 28 ruling that although police reports and witness testimony show the woman has severe mental health problems, including autism, PTSD, dissociative identity disorder and depression, the state had listed no experts who could testify whether her conditions would prevent her from legally consenting to sexual activity.

He gave prosecutors a week to provide a list of witnesses who would appear at the April 24 trial.

Polk County Attorney John Sarcone said Wednesday the judge's order "has nothing to do with our dismissal and our reasoning for dismissing" the case. The prosecution's motion to dismiss states the woman's parents requested the case be dropped after conferring with prosecutors.

It also states that the woman "is unable to assist in the prosecution of this case given her significant mental health diagnosis and attendant condition. The state is unable to proceed in this prosecution and must dismiss."

When asked for further comment, Sarcone said, "our motion to dismiss states the reasons why we are dismissing."

"I'm not going to discuss anything further about the victim, she's been through enough already," he said.

The teenagers had been friends for about six months, Jay Fifield told the Register. They had been dating for about two months before the police report was filed.

The teens had met each other's parents, and Nicholas Fifield was well known to the staff at the Des Moines group home where she stayed, Jay Fifield said.

Fifield originally had submitted an Alford plea to assault with intent to commit serious injury, an aggravated misdemeanor, but withdrew the plea in December in favor of a trial. The plea agreement would have allowed the teenager to maintain his innocence while acknowledging that the prosecution had enough evidence to convict him.

Prosecutors at that time said they'd consider probation with treatment for Fifield, who is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.