Report: Former County Attorney Accused of Beating Ex-Girlfriend in Waukee Pleads Guilty to Assault

An unusual 2012 Waukee assault case in which police didn't file charges for seven months against a former Madison County attorney has concluded with a partial guilty plea on Tuesday.

Anthony Zane Blessum, 55, will spend six days in jail after pleading guilty to assault, while a second charge of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse is being dismissed, according to a Des Moines Register report.

He was accused of getting into a physical altercation with his ex-girlfriend at his Waukee home on June 11, 2012.

The victim wound up at the hospital that night, but police didn't file charges against the Madison County prosecutor from 1987 to 1997 until Jan. 14, according to the Register.

When Waukee police arrived, Blessum told officers his ex-girlfriend, Melissa Stender of Mitchellville, had broken into his house and had swung a frying pan at him. He allegedly told officers the two had quarreled and that the confrontation had become physical when she attempted to take prescribed medication because of a panic attack.

According to the officers’ report, Blessum told police he was a married man who had reached a certain age and was going through a midlife crisis. Police tried to interview Stender, 45, who was described in the report as “very emotional” and “very out of it.”

Officer Derrick Spoerry’s police report detailed how he determined that no charges would be filed against either Blessum or Stender.

“I spoke with on-call (Assistant) County Attorney Chuck Sinnard and explained the situation to him,” Spoerry wrote in the police report. “I advised him of all the details. Chuck advised to not make an arrest at this point and to write up the case and he will review it and decide on charges.”