GARNER – A former lawmaker was found not guilty by a jury Wednesday in a highly-publicized sex abuse case involving his wife.
Henry Rayhons, age 78 of Garner, Iowa was arrested on August 15, 2014 after charges were filed against him for 3rd Degree Sexual Abuse, a class C Felony. Rayhons was the House District 8 state representative but soon declared he would not seek re-election.
On the evening of May 23, 2014, the Garner Police Department responded to the Concord Care Center, a long term care facility in Garner, Iowa, regarding a reported sexual abuse which had occurred earlier in the evening involving one of its residents and Rayhons. After obtaining initial information, the Garner Police Department requested the assistance of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) for further investigation. The criminal complaint states that on or about May 23, 2014, Rayhons committed sexual abuse upon the victim – his late wife Donna Rayhons, who died in August of 2014 – by performing a sex act upon her as a person suffering from mental defect or incapacity, after he had been told that the victim did not have the cognitive ability to give consent to any sexual activity. Rayhons testified during the trial that he and his wife had no sexual contact that day.
Rayons, if convicted, had faced up to 10 years in prison if he had been convicted.
NOT GUILTY
Dam, Common Sense got the winning vote. Who would of thunk it?
I’d like to read the particulars of the case. I believe transcripts are available to the public after a period of time. I mean, I’d like to know specifically what the allegations were, who saw what etc. Maybe NIT could acquire this information and make an article about what Mr. Rayhons was facing and by whom.
The particulars were given in this case thru many news outlets including some national news outlets. What do you care? You are not familiar with the rules and regulations in a long term care facility. You do not work in this field, so don’t try to think you the logistics of how a care facility is run. And there are some particulars of this case that will not be public due to Hippa regulations.
Here is what the DPS released early on:
Complaint & Affidavit
I wonder how much this ridiculous trial cost
Congratulations……….the District Attorney should be disbarred for even thinking about filing such a frivoulous case and certainly for prosecuting you on such flimsy evidence. I hope the Iowa State Bar disciplines that District Attorney. I am and will be outraged at those stupid actions against you.
Live long and prosper Mr. Rayhons…….I wish you many years of a long and peace filled life.
I am so sorry that you had to deal with such an injustice…….
God Bless,
Mary R…
If this incident was reported to the Department of Inspection and Appeals, it’s not the District Attorney’s fault. Long term care facilities have a mandatory reporting law. If they feel that a resident has been abused in anyway, and if it has been reported to the administration of the facility, those administrators have no choice but to report it to DIA. And you will never know how or if it was reported as that would be a violation of the hiipa laws.
Seemed a bit like a witch hunt… I think the guy was being made an example of.
He very well could have been used as an example. If this would have been John Doe, who knows, it may have been handled quietly within the care center and the investigators with the inspections and appeals. I also wonder how much influence her family had with this case.