Charles City man’s conviction of sexual abuse upheld by appeals court

DES MOINES – At a sentencing hearing on October 30th, 2012, presiding District Court Judge Stephen P. Carroll sentenced Cornovis Teasley, age 35, to serve up to 10 years in prison for a Class C felony 3rd degree sexual abuse conviction.

Teasley, who had a Charles City address at the time of his conviction, was found guilty by a Cerro Gordo county jury of third-degree sexual abuse of a fourteen-year-old Mason City girl.

Teasley appealed his conviction, and the Iowa Court of Appeals upheld the jury’s finding on Wednesday, November 20th, stating the following facts of the case were accepted:  On or about the 27th day of August, 2011, the defendant performed a sex act with a child.  The complaining witness testified she was fourteen years old at the time of her encounter with Teasley. She also testified that, after Teasley sexually abused her, he began to cry and told her he had kids her age. Another witness testified that he was nineteen years old and Teasley was “older.” Finally, Teasley was in the courtroom and subject to observation by the jury, and the jury reasonably could have surmised that he looked to be over four years older than the complaining witness.

The Appeals Court stated that because a reasonable juror could have found that Teasley was four or more years older than the fourteen-year-old victim, Teasley’s judgment and sentence for third-degree sexual abuse was upheld.