Charles City man pleads no contest to reduced child sex charge

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

A Charles City man charged with two child sex crimes has pleaded no contest to a lesser charge.

Jeffrey Ralph Hitchcock, age 53, had been charged with sexual abuse in the third degree, a Class C felony, and lascivious acts with a child, also a Class C felony.

Earlier this month Hitchcock filed a written plea of no contest to the charge of lascivious contact with a minor, a serious misdemeanor.

The Class C felonies, if convicted, have a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison on each charge. A serious misdemeanor has a maximum penalty of one year in prison.

A plea of no contest says Hitchcock does not admit guilt, but agrees that a judge or jury would likely find the evidence sufficient to convict him of the charge and that the evidence would likely prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he had committed the crime.

Legally, the effect of a no contest plea is the same as pleading guilty, but it can reduce the ability of the plea to be used in further civil or criminal cases.

As part of the plea agreement, the Floyd County Attorney’s Office will recommend that the judge sentence Hitchcock to a deferred judgment and sentence of one year of probation with the Iowa Department of Corrections and a civil penalty of $430, plus lifetime registry on the Iowa Sexual Offenders Registry.

According to records filed in Floyd County District Court, Hitchcock allegedly had sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl throughout the year 2020, and sexually touched a 13-year-old girl. The charges say the alleged victim described the incidents in an interview at a Child Protection Center.