CLEAR LAKE – Iowa’s child abuse laws need to be stiffer, a North Iowa political activist says, and she’ll have a booth in downtown Clear Lake to hand out information on the subject.
Barbara Hovland, founder of ‘Justice For Our Iowa Children’ and the Cerro Gordo County Republican Party Chairwoman, will have a booth in Clear Lake on Saturday, October 6th on Main Street. A rally on the Iowa Capitol Steps was held this summer in Des Moines along with Deborah Yanna, grandmother of the child who was molested by her grandfather in Hardin County.
“Changes need to be made to current Iowa child abuse laws”, says Hovland. “The Statue of Limitations needs to be removed. Plea deals are given out too frequently and results in the perpetrator receiving only probation.”
“Our goal is to inform the citizens of the current laws in Iowa, to hear the stories of the victims and to make our voices be heard next session,” Hovland said.
Earlier this year, after Judge Rustin Davenport presided over the case of Tawny Symonds, who was accused by police of molesting a girl under 3 years of age in her daycare and was sentenced to just probation for her heinous, despicable deeds, Mrs. Hovland called for Davenport to be removed from his post.