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Charles City man pleads guilty to child sex charges

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

A Charles City man who was charged with committing sexual acts with two young girls is pleading guilty to the charges, although he is not admitting he committed the acts.

Shane Michael Davis, age 40, was arrested and charged in October with committing lascivious acts with a child, a Class C felony, for allegedly rubbing the vaginal area of a 10-year-old girl in July or August of this year.

Charles City man pleads guilty to child sex charges
Shane Michael Davis

He was also charged with committing an indecent act with a child, an aggravated misdemeanor, for allegedly grabbing and squeezing the breast of an 11-year-old girl during that same time period.

He initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, and demanded a speedy trial.

Last week, however, Davis’ attorney filed a written Alford guilty plea in return for the first count being reduced to a Class D felony. Conviction of a Class C felony as originally charged is subject to a term in prison up to 10 years. The term is up to five years for a Class D felony.

An Alford plea means the defendant agrees that the prosecution has enough evidence to likely convince a jury of his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, but he does not admit guilt.

“I am unable to stipulate that I committed the acts alleged, but agree that if the case were heard by a jury that there is a good chance that I would be convicted of the offenses alleged,” Davis said in his written plea.

“Further, I wish to take advantage of the plea offer and avoid the risk of conviction at trial and potential greater sentence. I wish to plead guilty but cannot admit the factual basis to the charges,” he wrote.

As part of the agreement, the Floyd County Attorney’s Office will recommend that the judge follow the recommendation of a presentence investigation report on the Class D felony, plus order registration as a sexual offender for 10 years and have a no-contact order in effect for five years.

Davis was released to the supervision of the Iowa Department of Corrections pending sentencing. His sentencing date was set for 10:30 a.m. Jan. 21, 2020.

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