West Liberty man accused of animal torture pleads guilty

A West Liberty man accused of torturing his roommate's cat changed his plea from not guilty to guilty Tuesday.

According to online court documents, Leo A. Nopoulos, 21, entered a written plea of guilty Tuesday. His original plea of not guilty was filed Nov. 21.

A video of Nopoulos given to the Iowa City Police Department by the cat's owner, Nathan Schloss, shows Nopoulos abusing the cat named Fritz for more than three hours on Oct. 9, 2014. According to police complaints, Nopoulos threw the cat against the ceiling, punched and kicked the cat, and hit the cat with a can of air freshener and a remote control.

Nopoulos was charged with animal torture, an aggravated misdemeanor, and released from the Johnson County Jail on $5,000 bond on October 17.

Schloss was later charged with 18 counts of sexual abuse and 22 counts of invasion of privacy. Police discovered videos of Schloss allegedly engaging in sexual acts with visibly incapacitated women on the hard drive that Schloss had given to police to show them the video of Nopoulos torturing his cat.

Nopoulos's jury trial was set to begin May 5 at the Johnson County Courthouse. Nopoulos could face up to two years in prison.