Former deputy convicted of child sex abuse

WASHINGTON - A former Washington County sheriff’s deputy was convicted last week of sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl, as well as requesting a search warrant under false pretenses to gather information about the victim.

Court records show Noah Schlabaugh, 23, was sentenced to two years of probation and required to register as a sex offender. If the terms of probation aren’t followed, he faces a suspended 10-year prison sentence.

The ruling came after Schlabaugh took a plea deal, accepting a guilty verdict for one count of sexual abuse with a child victim, and one count of seeking intelligence data under false pretenses. He was initially charged with three counts of the former and six of the latter.

In a written guilty plea, his defense attorney said Schlabaugh committed sex acts with a minor, and later asked for information about the victim from officials in Linn County, “Under the guise (of) use by law enforcement purposes.” Criminal complaints and affidavits in the case, usually a public record, were not available in Schlabaugh’s court docket on Iowa Courts Online.

Court records show police seized Schlabaugh’s cell phone Jan. 9, four days after his illegitimate request for police information from Linn County.

All of the charges stem from actions by Schlabaugh in December of 2023 and January of 2024, during his time as a Washington County Sheriff’s deputy, a position he held from the summer of 2021 to March 1 of this year, according to Washington County Supervisor meeting minutes.

Washington County Sheriff Jared Schneider did not immediately reply to a request for comments.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com