Nixon was arrested on Nov. 19, 2014. According to a criminal complaint, two granddaughters of his longtime companion told family members that Nixon put his hand under their clothes when the two girls were visiting their grandmother. The younger of the two victims told officials with the Department of Human Services that Nixon last touched her inappropriately on Christmas during her sixth-grade year in 2012. The younger victim told DHS officials that Nixon touched her “where she didn’t want to be touched” 10 to 12 times from 2009 to 2012.

After hearing about the sexual abuse of her two granddaughters, Nixon’s girlfriend of 20 years evicted him from the home. The state of Iowa originally charged Nixon with felony second-degree sexual abuse, which carries a 25-year prison sentence. In addition, he was originally charged with two counts of indecent contact with a minor, but his guilty plea dismissed one of the two charges and saved Nixon two years behind bars.