Lang
1/31/25
A Johnson County jury took just three hours to convict a Cedar Rapids man in an Iowa City sexual assault case.
According to a news release from the Johnson County Attorney’s Office, 26-year-old Anthony Cotner was found guilty Friday of 2nd Degree Sexual Assault, a Class B Felony carrying a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
According to arrest records, the victim was walking by the Pre-Game Lounge and Hookah Bar…formerly known as “H Bar”…on the 200 block of South Van Buren Street in October of 2023 when Cotner invited her inside. When the woman refused, Cotner reportedly grabbed her and tried dragging her into the bar. When that was unsuccessful, he allegedly began strangling her with both hands before sexually assaulting her in the alley behind 505 East College Street. The woman suffered multiple injuries.
DNA found on the woman’s clothing matched that of Cotner, who told police he was in the area at the time but had no idea how his DNA could have been found on the woman’s garments.
Sentencing is scheduled for early April.