Charles City woman’s conviction on sex abuse charge is upheld

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

The Iowa Supreme Court has turned down an appeal by a Charles City woman convicted in 2016 of third-degree sexual abuse.

The Iowa Court of Appeals had in December affirmed the conviction and sentence of Brittany Beek, age 29, for having sexually abused a 15-year-old girl who had run away from a youth shelter and spent a night with Beek in June 2016.

Beek was convicted in Floyd County District Court in August 2016, and then sentenced to up to 10 years in prison. Beek appealed the verdict and sentence.

After the Court of Appeals ruled, Beek’s attorney asked the Iowa Supreme Court for further review. That court announced Wednesday that it has denied further review of the case.

Beek had faced two counts of third-degree sexual abuse. She was found guilty of the charge involving a 15-year-old girl, who was too young to have given legal consent to sexual acts, but was found not guilty of a charge involving a 16-year-old girl who had also run away from the youth shelter and spent the night with Beek.

Beek’s attorney argued that the evidence did not support the guilty verdict because the victim had frequently said she didn’t remember when asked questions during the trial, and there was a lack of physical evidence.

The appeal also argued that Judge Colleen Weiland had erred in sentencing because she did not consider all the sentencing options that were available to her.

The Court of Appeals ruled that “the jury is free to believe or disbelieve any testimony as it chooses. … In fact, the very function of the jury is to sort out the evidence and ‘place credibility where it belongs.’”

The Court of Appeals also ruled that the “victim’s accusation need not be corroborated by physical evidence,” and “the lack of physical evidence does not tip the scales against the jury’s finding of guilt.”

The court also ruled that Judge Weiland had considered the sentencing options available to her in concluding a prison sentence was necessary.

“We conclude the district court appropriately exercised its discretion in sentencing and therefore affirm Beek’s sentence,” the Court of Appeals ruled.