MyCrimeSpace

20 opinions for Nathan John Contos

• doug
  Aug 5, 2006 at 10:49 pm

  Trench, if you go to view Max’s pics, you will find the same pic from the yahoo profile. The “cat” refers to him as “my owner”, with a “you can contact him here” pointer. Sneaky scumbag.

• Trench
  Aug 5, 2006 at 10:50 pm

  They usually are.

• Rebecca
  Aug 6, 2006 at 12:14 am

  LOL i found that profile earlier but then i didnt bother to look at all the pics! damn he got my full scoop! But thanks for the mention!

  Although thanks to your site and mydeathspace I’ve officially put my myspace on private for fear of murder. *Atleast I’m over 18 so I have that going for me!*

• Jed
  Aug 15, 2006 at 5:36 pm

  I used to be in a band with this douche. He had sex with a girl when I knew him who I later found out was 13. That is his picture on the cat’s myspace page, he used to have one, but deleted it after he got arrested.

• Sarah
  Sep 20, 2006 at 1:10 am

  This guy is not a predator, nor did he have sex with a 13 year old (Jed-if you were in a band with Nathan you would know this to not be true). He’s being falsely accused as a Myspace predator, with no evidence to support these claims. Don’t believe every word you read in mass media, think critically. This site is grounds for a libel lawsuit.

• Anonymous
  Sep 25, 2006 at 12:51 pm

  hahaha yeah, pleading no contest to felony child molestation and sending nude pictures to children is “no grounds.” Thanks for the laugh, sarah.

• Sarah
  Oct 17, 2006 at 3:52 am

  Hey Anonymous, you clearly know nothing about plea bargaining in the legal system. There is also zero evidence to support he sent nude pictures to children. Mass media breeds ignorance and ignorant seems to describe you precisely.The laughs on you this time Anonymous. Ha ha ha.

• Anonymous
  Oct 18, 2006 at 1:06 pm

  Anyone who thnks the Santa Cruz Sentinel is mass media is an idiot.

• Sarah
  Nov 16, 2006 at 2:23 am

  SC Sentinel prints erroneous information all the time, many reputable community members & establishments have had to battle it out with this paper regarding the accuracy of their stories.

• Joseph Heartsner
  Nov 16, 2006 at 1:54 pm

  Hi Jed, would you mind dropping me an email so I could write to you regarding Contos? I would appreciate your time, and thank you.

• jjohnson
  Nov 16, 2006 at 2:16 pm

  Sarah, I understand Mr. Contos has been charged with additional crimes related to molesting another minor, and is set for trial later this month. Have you heard that reported?

• Mary
  Nov 17, 2006 at 10:59 pm

  Joe Heartsner is a cop. Be very careful.

• Ally
  Nov 21, 2006 at 1:19 pm

  Joseph Heartsner is a liar, I’ve seen him around. Also, I’ve read all the articles regarding this Contos guy, basicaly he is being accused of a consentual kiss with a 15 year old girl who was a fan of his band and who was stalking him. I know friends of the girl so I’ve heard it first hand. Also I heard he told her that it was innapopriate for them to be hanging out because of their age difference, but the cops didnt care about that, and wanted to nail him as a myspace predator even though there was no communication on myspace. The girl was comming to his shows tracking HIM down! I don’t think this guy deserves all this bad attention, I mean there are guys out there doing some pretty bad stuff, and this guy at least cut off all connection with this girl once he found out old she was. And I mean get real, she tried to kiss him, and he never talked to her again! I think if he was a predator he would have continued to hang out with her and gone farther. This whole thing is mass hysteria, its too bad, its unfair to people and families

• Ally
  Nov 21, 2006 at 1:36 pm

  Hey everyone, check out Joe Heartsners record as a cop! Check out how shady he is!
  This was found in an article about an incident regarding him.

  “The ruling Sergeant, Joseph Heartsner, gained later fame by taking beer and fireworks from the evidence room of the sheriff’s office, and having a BIG party down at the county building, including the good sergeant getting drunk, exploding fireworks and pissing all over the building. Tracy allowed Heartsner to stay with the department until he retired. Santa Cruz Sheriff Mark Tracy had and has a bizarre appreciation for bad cops like none other, time and again ignoring or forgiving (”exonerating”) some of the most offensive, and even illegal, behavior ever exhibited by a peace officer — depending on who the victim was.”

• Bill
  Nov 22, 2006 at 4:36 am

  Dec. 28
  Sergeant’s rehiring ripped:
  I’d just like to express my general disgust that Santa Cruz County sheriff’s Sgt. Joe Heartsner will get his job back after being fired for an incident that took place on the Fourth of July at the county government center. Heartsner and others were found drinking and letting off confiscated fireworks. Heartsner was also found urinating on public buildings, something he himself could now be convicted of as a sex crime and be made to register as a sex offender.

  The fact that Heartsner will receive his job back, along with back pay, is disgusting. The Register Pajaronian’s article downplayed the incident by reporting that there was “some drinking” and that the officers were not on duty at the time. Let me ask this: What amount of drinking is acceptable on government property by a public servant? The last time I checked it was none. And what’s more is these officers were letting off fireworks in the building. How idiotic is that?

  If this had been a civilian, they would have been thrown in the drunk tank and booked with everything under the sun.

  Joe Heartsner should not be kept on the force. This is not the kind of sheriff I want. You would think that since Mr. Heartsner has been on the force for 19 years he would know better, and that he would serve as an example to other younger officers in keeping with all aspects of the law. I also object to Heartsner having control over computer evidence, especially since he already illegaly tampered with it before. Also, why wasn’t he prosecuted as a sex offender for public urination?

  Distrust in a police force is not a good thing. Mr. Hearstner should have been kept fired — an example made that would have proved no one is above the law, not even a 19-year veteran.

  Bill Armi

  Watsonville

• scmonitor
  Nov 22, 2006 at 3:38 pm

  Acutally JJohnson, they cleared Nathan of all those charges today, finding that the accuser was lying, and they were able to prove it in court. The judge dismissed all the charges, and keep in mind the accuser is in her 20’s now.

• j johnson
  Dec 20, 2006 at 5:03 pm

  December 12, 2006

  Santa Cruz

  New charges against Contos

  The District Attorney’s Office re-filed charges against 27-year-old Nathan John Contos, alleging he e-mailed photos of a nude man to a teenage girl five years.

  The case was dismissed in November when prosecutor Jeff Rosell told the judge the victim would not make it to the jury trial, which had been scheduled for this month. In court Monday, Contos again pleaded innocent.

  A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 16.

  In a separate incident, Contos pleaded no contest to two felony counts of child molesting and a misdemeanor count of possessing child pornography in August. That case stems from an online relationship Contos had with another teenage girl, from whom he solicited nude photos.

  Contos has not been sentenced for that conviction and won’t be until the current case is resolved, a judge decided.

• nates ex girlfriend
  Feb 12, 2008 at 3:03 am

  HI, I dated nate before these allegations. The night I broke up with him was because I stumbled upon kiddie porn on the guys computer. Anyone that is going to stick up for him without even knowing him personally is a joke. All of his friends know he is a creep. he pleaded ‘no contest’ case closed.

• Nate's old buddy
  Feb 26, 2008 at 5:14 pm

  Who out there thinks we should handle the testimony of a vindictive ex girlfriend with credulity? I’ve known Nate for over ten years now. He’s an honest, loyal, trustworthy individual. As stated above, pleading ‘no contest’ does not NECESSARILY entail guilt. It isn’t even a sufficient reason to believe that one is guilty. It amazes me how stupid and irrational people are. Perhaps we should understand the legal system and the concept of a plea bargain a little better before we go about drawing inferences that are more than likely wrong. It’s too bad that people have to get their resentments wrapped up into serious matters. If you have a personal issue with him, maybe it’d be better to take that up with him one-on-one, rather than fabricating lies and posting them on the internet.

• joe johnson
  Apr 10, 2008 at 11:22 am

  Santa Cruz man convicted second sex crimes case, gets 1 year in jail
  By JENNIFER SQUIRES - Sentinel Staff Writer
  Article Launched: 04/09/2008 06:56:23 PM PDT

  SANTA CRUZ - A 28-year-old man convicted of sending pornographic photos and having inappropriate sexual contact with two teenage girls will serve a year in County Jail, a judge decided Wednesday.

  Nathan John Contos of Santa Cruz, will turn himself into jail officials Monday.

  Judge Samuel Stevens meted out the sentence after issuing a ruling on Contos’s court trial. Stevens found Contos guilty of one count of sending harmful matter to a minor, a misdemeanor. He e-mailed photos of a nude man to a teenage girl several years ago.

  The conviction is Contos’s second in as many years. He pleaded no contest to two counts of child molesting and a misdemeanor count of possessing child pornography in 2006.

  “We’re happy the court recognized the defendant is a predator in the community,” prosecutor Jeff Rosell said after court.

  Contos, a former paramedic, will have to register as a sex offender and will be on probation for five years after his release from jail.

  Defense attorney Kristine Burk said she wasn’t surprised by Stevens’ decision but added that the case against her client was not strong enough to warrant a state prison sentence.

  “We’re pleased with the decision to give him probation,” she said.

  Instead of taking that case before a jury, Rosell and Burk chose to submit the case to Stevens for a bench trial, meaning the judge reviews the police reports and other evidence to reach a decision.

  They also agreed to reduce

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  the charges Contos faced to a misdemeanor, Burk said.

  “We felt there wasn’t sufficient evidence,” she said. “There were gaping holes in the evidence.”

  About 30 family members and friends were in court Wednesday to show support for Contos, who briefly addressed the court.

  “I guess what’s on my heart is very simple… I do take responsibility,” Contos said.

  A victim advocate from the District Attorney’s Office read a letter to the court that was written by the girl Contos had contact with. Identified only as “Michaela,” the girl directed the letter to Contos.

  “You manipulated your way into making me trust you,” she wrote. The letter also said he “stripped away my dignity and sense of worth.”

  These charges against Contos surfaced after he was convicted in 2006.

  In the previous case, Contos pleaded no contest to charges he conversed with a then 14-year-old girl in an AOL chat room and through MySpace.com for about a month before meeting and engaging in what investigators have called “inappropriate sexual contact.” He also asked the girl to send him nude photos of her, which she did.

  The one-year jail sentence is connected to Wednesday’s conviction, meaning if Contos violates the terms of his probation he could face more than two years in state prison.

  Burk said Contos is “relieved” to conclude the court process that has left him in limbo for the past two years.

  “I think he’s ready to just start moving forward,” Burk said.

  Contact Jennifer Squires at 429-2449 or jsquires@santacruzsentinel.com

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