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State of Iowa
v.
Benjamin James Work
Appellee
State of Iowa
Appellant
Benjamin James Work
Attorney for the Appellee
Louis S. Sloven, Assistant Attorney General
Attorney for the Appellant
Theresa R. Wilson, Assistant Appellate Defender
Supreme Court
Oral Argument Schedule
Non-Oral
Supreme Court Opinion
Summary
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Harrison County, Margaret Reyes, Judge. AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED. Considered by Greer, P.J., and Ahlers and Badding, JJ. Opinion by Badding, J. (16 pages)
A defendant appeals from his convictions for sexual exploitation by a school employee, lascivious conduct with a minor, and indecent contact with a child. He claims (1) the sexual exploitation convictions involving the victims in counts five, nine, and sixteen “were not supported by evidence of inappropriate touching”; (2) none of the convictions for lascivious conduct with a minor were supported by proof that the victims were never married; (3) the age element was not established for the indecent contact conviction in count three; and (4) the district court abused its discretion by not allowing Work to cross-examine a victim “with specific instances of conduct relating to her character for truthfulness.” OPINION HOLDS: On our review of Work’s claims, we conclude (1) the evidence was sufficient to convince a rational trier of fact that Work was guilty of sexual exploitation in the challenged counts; (2) the statute criminalizing lascivious conduct with a minor does not require proof of the minor’s marital status; (3) the State concedes the victim for the indecent contact conviction in count three was not a “child,” and we agree; and (4) the claimed evidentiary error is harmless as the defendant still elicited testimony about the witness’s character for truthfulness.
