NEWS

No prison for Iowa teacher sex abuser under scrutiny

Jason Clayworth
jclayworth@dmreg.com

A Floyd County prosecutor said Thursday she has asked a judge to review the suspended 10-year prison sentence handed down to a teacher convicted of sexually abusing a student, one of at least seven such cases detailed in a recent Des Moines Register investigation.

County Attorney Rachel Ginbey said she believes the 2012 sentence waiver violated an Iowa law that requires teachers and some other other licensed professionals to spend time in prison if they sexually abuse children.

Ginbey is the first prosecutor to take such action in response to a Register story published Sunday that reported how some educators convicted of sexually abusing students avoided prison and — in some cases, criminal records available to the public — despite state law to the contrary.

Pella band teacher Ben Thompson avoided prison time twice in 2016 stemming from sex abuse convictions in two counties.

Ginbey said she takes responsibility for what appears to be a sentencing error that followed former teacher Ben Thompson’s conviction in April.

Several attorneys, prosecutors and legal experts agreed the sentences run counter to Iowa's 20-year-old law that says mandatory reporters of child abuse are not eligible for the so-called deferred judgments or suspended prison sentences if they are convicted of a sex offense and their victims are under 18.

Some attorneys and judges who participated in those sentencing decisions said the mistakes resulted from oversights or not being aware of the law's requirements.

State Court Administrator David Boyd recently alerted county attorneys and chief judges in all eight Iowa judicial districts about the sentencing mistakes identified by the Register and reminded them of the requirements.

“After doing the research, I believe it probably was an illegal sentence,” Ginbey said. “What the court does from there, I don’t know at this point.”

Thompson, a former Pella High School band teacher, was accused of sexually abusing a 14- or 15-year-old girl and was sentenced to five years of probation in lieu of prison, court records show.

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Multiple calls to Susan Flander, the attorney who represented Thompson in the Floyd County case, have gone unreturned, including another on Thursday.

District Court Judge Gregg Rosenbladt, who sentenced Thompson, said he is limited in what he can say about the case because of Ginbey’s motion. But he said any possible sentencing error is taken seriously by the courts.

“If they do file a motion and bring that back to the court for attention, we’d certainly take a look at it,” said Rosenbladt, who had not yet seen the motion as of Thursday afternoon.

Ginbey said she was previously misinformed, leading her to believe the victim must have participated in classes taught by the teacher if the special sentencing provisions were to apply.

After speaking with the Iowa Attorney General’s office this week, she believes she was mistaken.

Black Hawk County Attorney Brian Williams said he, too, now believes one of his cases may also have resulted in an illegal sentence. Like Ginbey, he said there also was confusion over whether the law required a direct teacher-student connection.

Waterloo West High School teacher Brett Messenger was in 2012 convicted of sexual exploitation by a school employee after allegedly having sex with a student. District Court Judge Andrea Dryer waived his five-year prison term and instead sentenced him to five years of probation. The victim was between the ages of 14 and 17, according to the Iowa Sex Offender Registry.

Waterloo West High School teacher Brett Messenger was convicted in 2012 of sexual exploitation by a school employee after he was accused of having sex with a student. District Court Judge Andrea Dryer waived his five-year prison term and instead sentenced him to five years of probation. The victim was described in court records as being between the ages of 14 and 17.

Williams said his office recommended prison time for Messenger. Williams said he will wait to decide whether to file a motion in that case until his questions are more fully answered.

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Scott Brown, an assistant Iowa attorney general, said in a recent interview that the sentencing requirement for mandatory reporters is not predicated on whether the victim is directly under the educator’s supervision.

The legal implications behind the state’s failure to follow the law are murky. Unknown is what — if any — actions will be taken in other cases and whether those could result in prison time for the former educators.

Brown said anyone with “standing” in the case can ask the court to correct what is believed to be an illegal sentence. That could include a judge, the Iowa Department of Corrections, prosecutors or the defense.

It’s likely a defendant’s plea would be rescinded, and the case could essentially be prosecuted anew, Brown said. That’s the scenario that Ginbey believes is likely in Thompson’s Floyd County case.

But Brown said the issue could also fall under the so-called “law of the case” principle. That’s where a court's actions — even if wrong — would stand.