Woltz pleads guilty, receives 8 years

An Osceola man has pleaded guilty to eight of 14 charges and taken an Alford Plea to two of eight charges from arrests earlier this year.

Having previously pleaded not guilty to all charges, on Oct. 2, 46-year-old Jesse D. Woltz pleaded guilty to four counts of harassment in the first degree, one count invasion of privacy, one count control of a firearm by a domestic abuse offender, one count possession of a controlled substance - first offense and one count tax stamp violation; all serious or aggravated misdemeanors or non-forcible Class D felonies.

Woltz pleaded guilty using an Alford Plea to two counts of possession/purchase of depiction of a minor in sex act - first offense, Class D felonies.

Guilty pleas

For the four counts of harassment in the first degree and one count invasion of privacy, each count was given a maximum two year sentence. The harassment charges will run consecutively, back-to-back, to one another while the invasion of privacy charge will run concurrently, at the same time. The consecutive sentencing was based on the separate and serious nature of the offenses, to carry out the plea agreement and to provide Woltz the maximum incentive to comply with his probation upon release.

All of the sentences will run concurrent to other sentencing, for a total period not to exceed eight years. Fines for each count were $855 apiece.

The count of possession of a firearm by a felon and tax stamp violation each were given a sentence of five years while possession of a controlled substance - first offense, was given a one year r sentence. The counts will run concurrent to one another and to other sentences for a total period not to exceed eight years. Fines for the first two counts were $1,025 each and $430 for the third.

The state recommended to the court to dismiss the charges of ongoing criminal conduct - unlawful activity, three counts first degree harassment, one count of control of a firearm by a felon and possession of a controlled substance - marijuana first offense. Woltz was ordered to pay court costs and any victim restitution associated with those counts.

Alford pleas

An Alford plea is defined by Cornell Law School: “... also known as a ‘best-interests plea,’ registers a formal admission of guilt towards charges in criminal court while the defendant simultaneously expresses their innocence toward those same charges. Like the similar nolo contendere plea, an Alford plea skips the full process of a criminal trial because the defendant agrees to accept all the ramifications of a guilty verdict (i.e. punishment).”

For the two guilty counts, Woltz was sentenced to no more than five years per charge, with the sentences to run concurrent to one another, as well as concurrent to the sentences imposed in the other two cases not to exceed eight years. He will be required to register as a sex offender 10 years, 10 years probation and will be required to complete the Sex Offender Treatment Program as part of his sentence. Fines were set at $1,025 per charge.

The state recommended to the court to dismiss the charges of six counts of purchase or possession of depictions of a minor in a sex act. Woltz was ordered to pay court costs and any victim restitution associated with those counts.

Total fines come to $8,805, which are suspended due to Woltz’s incarceration.

Charges

Woltz was charged with seven counts of harassment in the first degree, one count invasion of privacy and one count ongoing criminal activity - unlawful activity stemming from an arrest warrant served May 26 for events that took place on or about Jan. 30, 2025.

Court documents showed that on or about that date, Woltz published hundreds of photographs or films of four separate women in states of partial or full nudity without their knowledge or consent to various internet sites; at least one of the sites allowed Wotlz to earn money by posting.

At the time of a search warrant being executed at Woltz’s property relating to the Jan. 30 accusations, the Osceola Police Department discovered a vehicle with a Mossberg Maverick 88 - 12-gauge shotgun in plain view in the back seat of a vehicle in the garage. As a convicted domestic abuse offender in 2002 in Winnebago County, Woltz is prohibited from owning firearms.

After obtaining an additional search warrant for the vehicle, officers located a bag containing a Sig P238 handgun, two loaded magazines and five jars containing controlled substances. Four of the five jars were labeled “30G.” Two of the jars contained a green leafy substance consistent with marijuana. The other three contained mushrooms believed to be psilocybin or psychedelic mushrooms. As a result of these findings, Woltz was charged with two counts of control of a firearm by a domestic abuse offender, possession of a controlled substance - first offense, possession of a controlled substance - marijuana first offense and tax stamp violation.

Woltz was arrested and transported to the Clark County Jail where he was released from after posting cash or surety bonds of $15,000 for the search warrant charges and $37,000 for the harassment charges.

During the May 26 search, Clarke County Sheriff’s deputies seized a cell phone that was in Woltz’s possession. A search warrant for the data extraction of the cell phone was executed on May 27, as sheriff’s deputies determined the phone to be relevant to an ongoing harassment case based on the time frame of the crimes.

On the phone there were over 22,000 images and 350 videos, with some containing child sexual abuse material. A medical professional later confirmed the eight of 10 images to be that of minor females from ages 10 to 17. While conducting a search of the phone, deputies came across a video which contained one of Woltz’s harassment victims. In the video, the victim was nude and did not appear to know she was being video recorded or photographed. Deputies contacted the victim who confirmed she did not know about the video nor consent to it being taken.

Based on the findings, Woltz was arrested June 28 with no bond until initial appearance for eight counts of purchase or possession of depictions of a minor in a sex act. His bond was then set at $100,000 cash only.

Additional plea information

Probation was denied by the courts for Woltz, and he will be imprisoned at the Iowa Medical Classification Center in Oakdale. He will be required to submit a DNA sample. All no contact orders as a result of these harassment charges will remain in effect for five additional years.

Once released, Woltz may be supervised on an electronic tracking and monitoring system. The courts set Woltz’s restitution as a Category B, which includes court costs, crime victim assistance program reimbursement, expenses incurred by public agencies, medical assistance program restoration, contributed to a local anti-crime organization and legal assistance fees. Woltz will continue to be ineligible from owning firearms.

Woltz requested to be sentenced immediately on all counts. Bond to appeal charges is set at $31,000.