Paullina, Iowa — A Sheldon man who faces high-level felony sex abuse charges in Paullina has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
A criminal complaint filed by the Paullina Police Department in district court accuses 27-year-old Alexandr Vlietstra of sex abuse of a minor. He was arrested in late August.
In his statement, the officer says that Child Protective Services notified the police department of an intake alleging child sex abuse. A worker took a statement from the child, who is not identified in the report. No age is mentioned except for the use of the term “a child.”
Vlietstra was charged with four counts of sexual abuse in the second degree – victim under 12 years of age. Normally that is a class B felony, but Vlietstra has a current case open, in which he is charged with similar offenses, which would bump these four charges to class A felonies. If convicted in both cases, Vlietstra could face life in prison without parole.
A pretrial conference in this case has been set for December 14th. Trials are often pushed back multiple times in cases such as this, but for now, the trial is scheduled for February 2nd, 2027.
