Conviction of Iowa man for abusing 6 year-old child upheld

DES MOINES – An Iowa Appeals Court last week upheld the conviction of a man for sexually abusing a six year-old child which landed him in jail for 50 years.

Court records show that James Abraham Hildreth, who lived in Polk County, appealed his conviction of two counts of sexual abuse in the second degree which stemmed from a 2009 incident the court described this way:

In October 2009, James Hildreth was living with a woman who had a daughter, B.P., who was then six years old. On October 24, 2009, the mother and an older sibling were staying overnight with friends. B.P. testified that Hildreth woke her up in the night, placed a blindfold and a blanket over her head, and put her on the floor. She stated he took off her pajama bottoms, rubbed a “medicine” on her private parts, and then placed a buzzy thing inside her.

B.P. testified that Hildreth then picked her up and put her on the bed in the bedroom of the sibling who was gone that night. He put the blindfold over her eyes again, but she was able to look out and see Hildreth’s penis sticking out of his underwear. She stated Hildreth put his penis inside her for about two or three minutes, which hurt and caused her to cry. B.P. stated Hildreth then put some more “medicine” on her private parts and put the buzzy thing inside her again. Hildreth then took B.P. to her room and told her to put her pajamas back on. He gave her some milk and a cookie, and she went back to bed.

The next morning, B.P. noticed that she had blood in her underwear. She changed her underwear several times because of the bleeding. When the mother returned, B.P. immediately told her what had happened. The mother saw B.P. was bleeding from the vagina and took her to the hospital. An examination showed the child had bruising of the hymen and vaginal wall, which was consistent with blunt-force, penetrating trauma.

The police were contacted from the hospital. The mother had a relative collect the bloody underwear to give to officers. When the mother got home she found a vibrator had blood on it. She wiped off the vibrator with a tissue. Officers collected both the vibrator and the tissue. A laboratory examination showed sperm and DNA attributable to Hildreth on two of the pairs of underwear. Also, DNA that matched that of Hildreth and B.P. was found on the tissue.

Hildreth was charged with two counts of sexual abuse in the second degree.

Hildreth appealed his conviction based on his contention that there is not sufficient evidence in the record to support his convictions. Hildreth claimed that B.P. was not a credible witness. He also asserted the child’s genital injuries could have been caused by a kick from a sibling.

The court disagreed, ruling that DNA evidence supports Hildreth’s convictions.

Hildreth also claimed there was a complete breakdown in communication between himself and defense counsel. He asked for a new trial with different counsel.

The court ruled that a last-minute request for substitute counsel is disfavored if it is considered to be a delaying tactic.