Charles City man pleads guilty to three sexual act counts

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

A Charles City man charged with sexual abuse for an alleged incident involving a young girl has pleaded guilty to three separate counts of a reduced charge.

Daniel Joseph Hibner, age 34, was arrested on March 15 and charged with sexual abuse in the second degree, a Class B felony.

He was scheduled to begin trial this week, but at a hearing Tuesday, Hibner pleaded guilty to three separate felony counts of lascivious acts with a child, each a Class C felony.

As part of the plea agreement with the Floyd County Attorney’s Office, the prosecution and defense will recommend that Hibner be sentenced to three consecutive terms of an indeterminate time in prison of not more than 10 years each.

The original Class B felony charge has a prison term of up to 25 years, which is less than the total 30 years Hibner could be sentenced to under the three Class C felonies. But the original sexual abuse charge has a requirement that Hibner serve 85% of the sentence, according to Floyd County Attorney Todd Prichard. It is possible that Hibner will serve less time in prison under the three charges.

The criminal complaint filed in Floyd County District Court alleges Hibner sexually abused a girl between the ages of 5 to 7 at a residence in Charles City in August 2022. The girl allegedly reported the incidents to a forensic interviewer at Allen Child Protective Center in Waterloo.