Metro Briefs
Satterfield requests delay
The attorney for former Iowa football player Abe Satterfield requested a judge reschedule his sexual-abuse trial.
Satterfield, 20, is set to attend his trial on March 30. He is charged with second- and third-degree sexual abuse for allegedly assaulting a former Hawkeye student-athlete in a Hillcrest dorm in 2007.
Des Moines attorney Alfredo Parrish wrote in a motion depositions have been tentatively scheduled for April 3, 10, 17, and 30, after the set trial date.
Parrish stated assistant Johnson County prosecutor Anne Lahey did not oppose a continuance.
— by Olivia Moran
Fire causes $15,000 in damages
The Iowa City Fire Department responded to a house fire that caused an estimated $15,000 in damages Feb. 28, authorities said.
According to officials, the first responders to 2920 Muscatine Ave. saw smoke coming from the roof of a house. Fire crews discovered a smoldering fire in the attic and had controlled it within an hour, reports said.
Damage is limited to the attic and kitchen ceiling; no one was injured. One person was displaced, authorities said.
According to the Iowa City firefighters, the blaze is believed to have been accidental in nature, though the origin and cause are still being investigated.
— by Regina Zilbermints
IC woman charged in child-porn case
An Iowa City woman was one of 11 individuals charged in connection to child pornography after a statewide, multiagency investigation, officials said.
Jennifer Abbott was charged with possession of child pornography.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa, all 11 defendants were arrested after a coordinated effort dubbed “Project Wirebreaker.”
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice nationwide initiative aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse, said Mike Bladel, a law-enforcement coordinator with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Officials said using the same technology the perpetrators of these crimes use has given them a new tool to fight child exploitation online.
Possession of child pornography is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
— by Regina Zilbermints
