Young Charles City man found not guilty of sexual charges

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

An 19-year-old Charles City man has been found not guilty by a Floyd County District Court jury on charges of committing sexual acts with a child.

Tobiah Nathaneal McGovern of Charles City was arrested in October and originally charged with lascivious acts with a child, a Class C felony. The charges were later amended to add the charge of indecent contact with a child, an aggravated misdemeanor.

The trial was held Tuesday and Wednesday at the Floyd County courthouse, and the jury returned its verdict a little after 4 p.m. Thursday, saying not guilty on both counts.

District Court Judge Colleen Weiland ordered that the charges be dismissed and McGovern released from custody immediately, with court costs charged to the state.

McGovern was represented by attorney Mark Milder of Denver, Iowa. The case was prosecuted by the Floyd County Attorney’s Office.

The charges had alleged that McGovern, in 2018 to 2019, when he was 17 or 18 years old, touched the genitals of a child age 8 or 9 at the time. The original criminal complaint filed by the Charles City Police Department had said the child was a 9-year-old girl.