Mason City man sentenced to 35-50 years in prison for continuous sexual abuse of children

MASON CITY — A Mason City man accused of continually sexually abusing two children has been sentenced to at least 35 years in prison.

Mason City police were called to a home on May 5th of last year to do a welfare check on a child at the home, with the Iowa Department of Human Services being called in to assist.  A criminal investigation led to 35-year-old Nathaniel Pearce being charged with two counts of continual sexual abuse of a child, a Class B felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison on each charge. Pearce as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors pleaded guilty to the two charges in December.

District Judge Gregg Rosenbladt this week sentenced Pearce to 25 years in prison on each charge, with a minimum requirement that 70% of the sentence be served, with the two sentences to run consecutively. Pearce was also ordered to pay a total of $520 in civil penalties.

This story was updated to correct the sentences will run consecutively and not concurrently.