Lindaman fighting sexual offender registry requirement while appealing case

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

A Charles City man convicted of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse has been charged with failure to register with the Iowa sexual offender registry.

Douglas Lindaman, age 62, is appealing the verdict from his April trial, and is arguing that all the results of that trial, including a jail sentence, fines and the requirement to register, should be on hold during the appeals process because he submitted an appeals bond.

Part of his argument is that the sexual offender registry and a special 10-year probationary sentence that was also imposed are unconstitutional because they violate the Iowa and U.S. constitutional bans against cruel and unusual punishment.

A criminal complaint was filed Aug. 1 against Lindaman, charging him with a sex offender registration violation, first offense.

The complaint says that a Floyd County deputy and a state Division of Criminal Investigation agent had found Lindaman at his home in rural Charles City and gave him written and verbal notification on July 23 that he was required to register in person at the Sheriff’s Office by the close of business on Monday, July 30, and that Lindaman failed to do so.

Also on Aug. 1, an order was issued by Magistrate Judge Katherine Evans ordering Lindaman to make an initial appearance on the charge on Aug. 17.

Lindaman has filed nine motions in Floyd County district court regarding asking the court to clarify if the appeals bond stay on judgment includes the sexual offender registry requirement.

He argues that the judge in the case, District Court Judge Gregg Rosenbladt, said that all the parts of the sentence, including registration, were suspended while the case is on appeal.

Lindaman has requested transcripts from the trial and sentencing to see what the judge said, but those transcripts were not available by the time the registration requirement expired on July 30, he said.

Lindaman has also made a motion asking the district court to order the magistrate court  to not proceed on the sexual registry violation citation.

In a resistance to Lindaman’s original motion, Floyd County Attorney Rachel Ginbey cited an Iowa Supreme Court decision that a requirement for registration on the sex offender registry is automatic upon conviction.

“The appeal bond that delayed execution of the criminal judgment and sentence had no effect on the registration requirement automatically triggered by his conviction,” said the case that Ginbey cited.

Judge Rosenbladt filed an order July 27 saying he is reviewing the filings and “believes it may be appropriate to schedule a hearing in an attempt to resolve those issues,” but so far has not set a hearing.

Lindaman was convicted on April 18 of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse, an aggravated misdemeanor, and later sentenced to up to two years in prison.

Lindaman had previously been found guilty of sexual abuse in the third degree, a Class C felony, in a Floyd County trial in 2016, and sentenced to serve up to 10 years in prison.

That conviction, however, was overturned by a three-judge panel of the Iowa Supreme Court, on the ground that Lindaman was not adequately advised by the district court of the risks of representing himself during the trial.

Lindaman was accused of sexually touching the genitals of a 17-year-old boy who was working for him on his farm.

Lindaman argued during his first trial and during his retrial that the touch was therapeutic and done to help the boy get over a “blocked physiological disorder” and that the touch was not sexual and therefore not criminal.

Lindaman served almost 14 months of his original sentence before that conviction was overturned, and he has argued that under state sentencing guidelines he has already served more time than would be required under the latest two-year sentence.