Lindaman sentenced to up to 2 years

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com 

Douglas Lindaman was sentenced to the maximum sentence Friday morning on a conviction of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse.

Judge Gregg Rosenbladt denied or overruled a series of motions Lindaman had made to dismiss the verdict or call for a new trial, and sentenced him to up to two years in prison; various fines, charges and restitution; registration for life on the sexual offenders registry; a five-year no-contact order with the victim and his family; and a 10-year special sentence similar to parole to commence when Lindaman is released from state prison.

Lindaman, 62, of Charles City, was charged in 2015 with third-degree sexual abuse, a Class C felony, for allegedly sexually touching a 17-year-old boy’s genitals in 2011, after hiring the boy as a farmhand.

In April, a Cerro Gordo County jury found Lindaman guilty of the lesser charge of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse, an aggravated misdemeanor. It was the third trial in the same case, after a conviction of third degree sexual abuse in 2016 was overturned by the Iowa Supreme Court, and the retrial in February in Franklin County ended in a mistrial.

In a victim impact statement at the sentencing hearing Friday morning in Floyd County District Court, the victim’s mother said the family has had to endure a “humiliating and degrading experience in court” three times while Lindaman tried to paint himself as the victim.

“You are a sexual predator who wants sexual gratification at whatever cost,” she concluded.

Judge Rosenbladt said he considered the age difference between Lindaman and the victim at the time of the offense and the employer-employee relationship which led to a sense of vulnerability; the touch to the victim’s genitals; and the possible long-term effect the incident would likely have on the victim.

He said the sentence was not discriminating or drawing a line on homosexuality or whether the touch was male-male or male-female, an issue that Lindaman had raised repeatedly during trial and in pretrial motions where he has argued that there is a bias in society against gay men that has affected his ability to get a fair trial.

Lindaman had already served almost 14 months in prison or county jail on the original conviction in 2016. Rosenbladt said that did not enter into his decision in deciding on this sentence for this conviction, but Lindaman would receive credit for that time served.

The judge ordered Lindaman to turn himself in by July 6 to begin his sentence, but he also set an appeal bond at $2,000, which he said was the standard amount for this level conviction.

Lindaman posted the bond on Friday, meaning he will not start serving his sentence while the appeals process is ongoing.