Hunter
04/27/22
A North Liberty man who had already been charged with 40 counts of child sexual abuse recorded on video earlier this year has been additionally charged with lascivious acts with a child from an alleged incident nearly nine years ago.
According to the criminal complaint, 37-year-old Thomas Jesse asked a 7-year old to perform a sex act on him sometime between January 1 and June 1, 2013. The man was allegedly exposed at the time of the incident.
A warrant was issued on the charge Tuesday, at which time he was served at the Lee County Jail. Lascivious Acts with a Child is a Class D felony punishable by a prison term of up to five years.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office says last October it received word that Jesse was in possession of a laptop that included the videos. The computer and other electronic devices were seized, and investigators say numerous videos recorded between March of 2020 and July of 2021 showed Jesse involved in sex acts with the child.
Jesse was arrested in January and faces a maximum prison sentence of 1,003 years if convicted on all counts.
Tuesday’s charges were able to be filed due to a change in the law passed in Iowa last year that removed the statute of limitations on sex abuse incidents.