A deputy sheriff from northeast Iowa faces assault charges after an off-duty incident earlier this month in New Hampton.

Authorities arrested 35-year-old Jeffrey Allen Athey in New Hampton on October 4 after getting a 9-1-1 call about an alleged assault. Athey, who has been a Chickasaw County Sheriff’s Deputy for six years, was initially charged with assault causing injury, booked into the Bremer County Jail in Waverly, then released. He now faces an additional charge, assault with the intent to commit sexual abuse.

Athey is currently on paid leave from his job in the Chickasaw County Sheriff’s Office. Prosecutors from the Iowa Attorney General’s Office are handling the case.