Appeals Court affirms Meeker County sex offender’s conviction

LITCHFIELD - The Minnesota Court of Appeals in an unpublished opinion released Monday affirmed the conviction of Nathan Charles Robert Schwartz, 26, of Dassel, in a case involving multiple criminal sexual conduct charges.
Schwartz was convicted in District Court in Meeker County in 2014 on charges of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, use of a minor in a sexual performance or pornographic work, and possession of a pornographic work.
He was sentenced in May 2014 to 150 months, or 12 1/2 years, in prison.
The criminal complaint alleged criminal sexual conduct over a number of years involving a girl under age 13.
In his appeal, Schwartz argued that there was insufficient evidence to prove him guilty of possessing pornographic work.
He argued that the court should not have admitted evidence of his previous criminal history and should not have allowed the expert testimony of a Meeker County investigator during the trial.
In its decision, the Court of Appeals stated the “only reasonable inference from the evidence is that Schwartz knew or had reason to know that he possessed the works and that the works were pornographic and involved minors.’’
It affirmed the District Court’s decision to include evidence of his past criminal activity.
It was admitted to refute the defendant’s claim that the victim had fabricated the allegations of sexual abuse and to show a common scheme or plan of sexual misconduct, according to the memorandum accompanying the decision.
The court also affirmed the use of the investigator’s testimony.
The testimony also addressed the defense claims of fabrication and the investigator had established his qualifications as an expert witness, the memorandum noted.
Schwartz has also filed an appeal for his conviction in January of first-degree criminal sexual conduct also involving a young girl.
He is serving his sentence at the Stillwater Correctional Facility with an expected release date of April 2033.
Following his release, he will remain on supervised probation for life, according to the sentencing order.