by Attorney Eric D. PuryearIowa DHS investigates situations where a person is accused of allowing a registered sex offender to have certain access to a child:
Knowingly allowing a person custody or control of, or unsupervised access to a child or minor, after knowing the person is required to register or is on the sex offender registry under chapter 692A for a violation of section 726.6.
In essence, Iowa law prohibits allowing a person who is a registered sex offender (or who is required by law to register but has failed to do so) to have physical care or control of a child, or to have unsupervised access to a child.
The type of sexual offense that resulted in sex offender registration does not matter insofar as DHS child abuse investigations are concerned. For example, if a man is a registered sex offender because they had sexual intercourse with a girlfriend who was 1 day too young under Iowa law, that person is still prohibited from being left along with a 5 year old boy. That is true even when there is no specific reason, other than being a registered sex offender, to suggest that the person in question poses any danger to the child in question.
It is an important element that the person who is accused by DHS knew the sex offender was, in fact, a sex offender. That issue is often at the core of the investigation and any appeal that takes place.
Any person who is accused or suspected of allowing a sex offender to have access to a child is well advised to exercise their right to remain silent and seek an attorney at once. Properly handling such a case is vital to avoid a founded report that can cause lasting harm to a person’s employment and ability to be around children, custody issues, criminal charges that can result in a lengthy prison term, and other significant problems in life.