The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of Michael Kelso-Christy, an Albia man arrested in 2015 for a sexual assault in Bussey.

Kelso-Christy gained entry to a woman’s home by impersonating a high school acquaintance through text message, which eventually led to an invitation to the woman’s house. Kelso-Christy stated he would like the victim to be blindfolded and restrained; after which he would come to the victim’s house and have intercourse. The following day, the victim contacted the old acquaintance, and determined it had not been him at the victim’s residence. Kelso-Christy was convicted in 2015 of Burglary in the 2nd degree and sentenced to 10 years in prison, and as the crime was sexually motivated he is required to register as a sex-offender and required to complete sex-offender treatment.

The conviction was upheld in the Iowa Court of Appeals in June of 2017, which Kelso-Christy then appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court which considered the question:

“Does obtaining consent to a sex act by impersonating another person render an otherwise consensual sex act “against the will” under Iowa sex abuse statutes?”

A decision was released today, stating that Kelso-Christy’s actions “Denied freedom of choice” and that “the identity of a sexual partner is no mere collateral manner. That the victim consented to an encounter with another man is irrelevant. Because substantial evidence in the record supports a finding that Kelso-Christy entered the victims home with the intent to commit sexual abuse, we affirm his conviction.”

All justices concurred with the decision except Justice Wiggins and Justice Appel who dissent, while Justice Hecht took no part in the proceedings.

Marion County Attorney Ed Bull tells KNIA/KRLS News

“Our office is absolutely thrilled with the Supreme Court’s decision this morning. We knew when we filed the charge that we needed to be prepared to not only win at the trial court, but also on the appellate level. When this case first came across my desk we believed wholeheartedly that what the defendant did was a violation of Iowa Law. We survived a motion to dismiss, and then convinced a trial judge to find the defendant guilty. With the assistance of the Attorney General’s office, together we were able to convince the Iowa Court of Appeals, and today the Iowa Supreme Court, that what the defendant did was a violation of Iowa Law. Special thanks to Deputy Reed Kious with the Marion County Sheriff’s Department and Sheryl Solich and Tyler Buller with the Attorney General’s Office.”

To read the full Supreme Court opinion, click below.
Iowa Supreme Court Decision