A Council Bluffs man pleads guilty and is sentenced for trying to kidnap a young girl near her elementary school.
Nathan Busse, 22, pleads guilty to one count of child stealing in Pottawattamie County Court on Thursday. A charge of 3rd degree kidnapping charge is dropped.
Busse is then sentenced to 10 years in prison, and when he's released he will live at a group home. He will not have to register as a sex offender.
In January 2013, a 10-year-old girl in the 5th grade was finishing her crossing guard duties at Edison Elementary at 3rd Ave. and 22nd St. in Council Bluffs when Busse forcibly grabbed the girl. The girl broke free and her father who tracked him down. Busse admitted to police he was trying to take the girl to his basement to lock her up.
Deputy Pottawattamie County Attorney Jon Jacobmeier says the only way he would accept a plea deal is if Busse went to the group home, and he wouldn't be taken at one if he was a sex offender.
"Well I don't want him to do this again. I can't say that he's not going to try it again. He's already been sitting in jail for three years hopefully he's not going to,” Jacobmeier explained.
Busse has a low IQ and was, at one time, found incompetent to stand trial.
His defense hopes he can go to the prison in Oakdale, IA where he can get mental treatment.
“I have struggled throughout this entire case with figuring out what Mr. Busse does understand but I believe that this is what he wants to occur. Is that correct Mr. Busse?” his defense attorney, Jennifer Solberg said in court.
“Yes," Busse responded.
The court order recommends that Busse to be housed at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Oakdale as a “low intellectual level."
The Iowa Department of Corrections says they will evaluate Busse when he is in their custody to determine where he will be housed.
With Iowa's “Earned Time” and credit for 3 years time served, he'll spend about 15 months in the prison system before going to the group home.
