2008 Woodie Awards
Metro Briefs
Issue date: 3/24/08 Section: Metro
Man charged with sex abuse
A convicted sex offender is accused of having nonconsensual sex with a female while she was sleeping March 21, Johnson County sheriff's deputies said.
Timothy Kelly, 20, address unknown, is charged with third-degree sexual abuse, violation of the sex-offender registry - both felonies - and possession of drug paraphernalia.
As of Sunday, Kelly was being held at Johnson County Jail on a $21,000 bond.
According to reports, the female told authorities that Kelly pulled down her pants while she was sleeping March 21 and had sexual intercourse with her without her consent.
When Kelly realized that she had awakened, he stopped, reports show.
Kelly has also failed to inform authorities of his address since his release from Johnson County Jail in December 2007, as required by the Iowa Sex Offender Registry. According to reports, Kelly has been charged with violation of the sex-offender registry two other times, so his most recent offense is a felony.
When Kelly was booked at Johnson County Jail, officials found a "one-hitter" pipe on him, reports show.
Third-degree sexual abuse is a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
According to the Iowa Sex Offender Registry website, Kelly was convicted of third-degree sexual abuse in June 2004 in Lyon County, Iowa. His victim was a female between the ages of birth and 13.
- by Kurtis Hiatt
Ex-law prof loses law license
The Iowa Supreme Court suspended the law license of former UI law Professor Kenneth Kress on March 14 because he tampered with student evaluations in 2004.
Kress, 56, is most known for his expert knowledge in mental-health law.
Kress' license has been suspended indefinitely, but for at least three months, reports show. He is charged with two violations of the Iowa Code of Professional Responsibility for Lawyers.
Kress raised the scores on two student evaluations and "manufactured three highly positive evaluations" in order to raise his teaching-effectiveness score, reports said. In April 2004, an investigation revealed that Kress discarded three low-scoring evaluations and replaced them with more favorable ones.
In a testimony, Kress admitted that the evidence shows he must have tampered with the evaluations, but he said he suffered from mental and physical illnesses at the time that may excuse his actions.
The justices said, "While it is possible that Kress does not remember the specifics of his actions as a result of amnesia, we conclude that Kress has been less than candid in his testimony to the commission."
Reports show that Kress has been ordered to undergo a mental and physical examination and regain control of his diabetes and bipolar disorder before practicing law.
- by Olivia Moran
Man charged with abusing boy
Iowa City police have accused a man of sexually abusing a 10-year-old boy over a more than three-year time span.
Judah Seruya, 35, 1120 N. Governor St., was charged with second-degree sexual abuse on March 19.
The boy told a school counselor and interviewer at the Child Protection Center that Seruya "used his hand and mouth to touch his 'pee-pee' " and " 'humped his butt with his pee-pee' " on more than one occasion between 2005 and 2008.
Police allege that Seruya admitted he pulled the boy's pants down and touched the victim's genitals with his hand.
Second-degree sexual abuse is a Class B felony, punishable by up to 25 years in prison.
- by Kurtis Hiatt
Election board issues campaign fines
The Student Elections Board issued $60 in fines last week in response to the four campaign-procedure complaints heard on March 11.
A complaint filed against Alan Cosby of the Dream Team alleged "slander of character" toward an opponent via e-mail.
No ruling regarding the charge was issued because the board does not rule on matters of libel or slander and campus policy does not prohibit defamation or negative campaigning under election board code.
The board categorized the e-mail as mass communication - rather than personal correspondence - that failed to request approval by the election board, violating the code.
Cosby must pay $25 for the violation.
The board hit President-elect Maison Bleam of the VIP Party with a $25 fine for sending a mass e-mail to members of the greek community without approval from election board.
Though the board ruled the VIP Party improperly withheld spending from its financial record, it ruled that the party did not exceeded its allowable budget, as had been alleged. The election board issued a $10 fine for failure to disclose expenses.
Too little evidence was presented at the hearing to rule on complaints of early campaigning. The election board denied Bleam's request to appeal the rulings.
- by Carla Keppler
Supreme Court will not hear Bentley case
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review a decision made by the Iowa Supreme Court in the James Bentley case, which determined that a videotaped interview of sex-abuse victim Jetseta Gage could not be used during Bentley's trial.
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision in Iowa v. James Bentley in December 2007. The Iowa Supreme Court ruled in September 2007 that it would have been unconstitutional to show the video -
during which Jetseta revealed that she had been sexually abused - because the girl was unavailable to be cross-examined.
Jetseta was kidnapped and murdered by Bentley's brother, Roger Bentley, in March 2005. He is serving a life sentence.
James Bentley is charged with second-degree sexual abuse in Benton and Linn Counties for allegedly engaging in sex acts with Jetseta, who was under 12 years old at the time.
James Bentley was found guilty in a separate incident involving the girl in March 2007. He was convicted of six counts of child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child, receiving 100 years in federal prison without parole. He is appealing the conviction. He faces an additional 50 years in prison if found guilty of the state sexual-abuse charges.
- by Olivia Moran
Man pleads not guilty in hatchet incident
An Iowa City man who allegedly approached officials with a hatchet pleaded not guilty to three charges.
Johnathan Eslinger, 24, was charged with assault on a peace officer with a weapon, a Class D felony, interference with official acts with a dangerous weapon or firearm, a Class D felony, and fourth-degree criminal mischief, a serious misdemeanor.
On Jan. 9, Eslinger allegedly used a hatchet to strike a glass door several times. Police reported that he then faced a police officer holding the hatchet and would not comply when ordered to drop the weapon. He eventually dropped the hatchet and resisted arrest, according to reports.
His trial is set for May 12.
A Class D felony is generally punishable by up to five years in prison and up to $7,500 in fines and a serious misdemeanor is generally punishable by up to one year in jail and up to $1,500 in fines.
- by Olivia Moran
A convicted sex offender is accused of having nonconsensual sex with a female while she was sleeping March 21, Johnson County sheriff's deputies said.
Timothy Kelly, 20, address unknown, is charged with third-degree sexual abuse, violation of the sex-offender registry - both felonies - and possession of drug paraphernalia.
As of Sunday, Kelly was being held at Johnson County Jail on a $21,000 bond.
According to reports, the female told authorities that Kelly pulled down her pants while she was sleeping March 21 and had sexual intercourse with her without her consent.
When Kelly realized that she had awakened, he stopped, reports show.
Kelly has also failed to inform authorities of his address since his release from Johnson County Jail in December 2007, as required by the Iowa Sex Offender Registry. According to reports, Kelly has been charged with violation of the sex-offender registry two other times, so his most recent offense is a felony.
When Kelly was booked at Johnson County Jail, officials found a "one-hitter" pipe on him, reports show.
Third-degree sexual abuse is a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
According to the Iowa Sex Offender Registry website, Kelly was convicted of third-degree sexual abuse in June 2004 in Lyon County, Iowa. His victim was a female between the ages of birth and 13.
- by Kurtis Hiatt
Ex-law prof loses law license
The Iowa Supreme Court suspended the law license of former UI law Professor Kenneth Kress on March 14 because he tampered with student evaluations in 2004.
Kress, 56, is most known for his expert knowledge in mental-health law.
Kress' license has been suspended indefinitely, but for at least three months, reports show. He is charged with two violations of the Iowa Code of Professional Responsibility for Lawyers.
Kress raised the scores on two student evaluations and "manufactured three highly positive evaluations" in order to raise his teaching-effectiveness score, reports said. In April 2004, an investigation revealed that Kress discarded three low-scoring evaluations and replaced them with more favorable ones.
In a testimony, Kress admitted that the evidence shows he must have tampered with the evaluations, but he said he suffered from mental and physical illnesses at the time that may excuse his actions.
The justices said, "While it is possible that Kress does not remember the specifics of his actions as a result of amnesia, we conclude that Kress has been less than candid in his testimony to the commission."
Reports show that Kress has been ordered to undergo a mental and physical examination and regain control of his diabetes and bipolar disorder before practicing law.
- by Olivia Moran
Man charged with abusing boy
Iowa City police have accused a man of sexually abusing a 10-year-old boy over a more than three-year time span.
Judah Seruya, 35, 1120 N. Governor St., was charged with second-degree sexual abuse on March 19.
The boy told a school counselor and interviewer at the Child Protection Center that Seruya "used his hand and mouth to touch his 'pee-pee' " and " 'humped his butt with his pee-pee' " on more than one occasion between 2005 and 2008.
Police allege that Seruya admitted he pulled the boy's pants down and touched the victim's genitals with his hand.
Second-degree sexual abuse is a Class B felony, punishable by up to 25 years in prison.
- by Kurtis Hiatt
Election board issues campaign fines
The Student Elections Board issued $60 in fines last week in response to the four campaign-procedure complaints heard on March 11.
A complaint filed against Alan Cosby of the Dream Team alleged "slander of character" toward an opponent via e-mail.
No ruling regarding the charge was issued because the board does not rule on matters of libel or slander and campus policy does not prohibit defamation or negative campaigning under election board code.
The board categorized the e-mail as mass communication - rather than personal correspondence - that failed to request approval by the election board, violating the code.
Cosby must pay $25 for the violation.
The board hit President-elect Maison Bleam of the VIP Party with a $25 fine for sending a mass e-mail to members of the greek community without approval from election board.
Though the board ruled the VIP Party improperly withheld spending from its financial record, it ruled that the party did not exceeded its allowable budget, as had been alleged. The election board issued a $10 fine for failure to disclose expenses.
Too little evidence was presented at the hearing to rule on complaints of early campaigning. The election board denied Bleam's request to appeal the rulings.
- by Carla Keppler
Supreme Court will not hear Bentley case
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review a decision made by the Iowa Supreme Court in the James Bentley case, which determined that a videotaped interview of sex-abuse victim Jetseta Gage could not be used during Bentley's trial.
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision in Iowa v. James Bentley in December 2007. The Iowa Supreme Court ruled in September 2007 that it would have been unconstitutional to show the video -
during which Jetseta revealed that she had been sexually abused - because the girl was unavailable to be cross-examined.
Jetseta was kidnapped and murdered by Bentley's brother, Roger Bentley, in March 2005. He is serving a life sentence.
James Bentley is charged with second-degree sexual abuse in Benton and Linn Counties for allegedly engaging in sex acts with Jetseta, who was under 12 years old at the time.
James Bentley was found guilty in a separate incident involving the girl in March 2007. He was convicted of six counts of child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child, receiving 100 years in federal prison without parole. He is appealing the conviction. He faces an additional 50 years in prison if found guilty of the state sexual-abuse charges.
- by Olivia Moran
Man pleads not guilty in hatchet incident
An Iowa City man who allegedly approached officials with a hatchet pleaded not guilty to three charges.
Johnathan Eslinger, 24, was charged with assault on a peace officer with a weapon, a Class D felony, interference with official acts with a dangerous weapon or firearm, a Class D felony, and fourth-degree criminal mischief, a serious misdemeanor.
On Jan. 9, Eslinger allegedly used a hatchet to strike a glass door several times. Police reported that he then faced a police officer holding the hatchet and would not comply when ordered to drop the weapon. He eventually dropped the hatchet and resisted arrest, according to reports.
His trial is set for May 12.
A Class D felony is generally punishable by up to five years in prison and up to $7,500 in fines and a serious misdemeanor is generally punishable by up to one year in jail and up to $1,500 in fines.
- by Olivia Moran
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