MASON CITY – An Illinois sex offender migrating west and now living in Mason City has been busted by police for fresh crimes.
Javon Shantez Brown (pictured at top) is a 33-year-old man from Illinois and now an inmate in the Cerro Gordo county jail, charged with crimes here. He appears to be gradually moving west, possibly to outrun his mounting problems. He was convicted in Champaign out in the Land of Lincoln in 2017 for an earlier criminal act of sexual abuse of a teen guest – a 15-year-old girl – at his home. A judge gave him probation as another charge of criminal sexual assault was dropped.
From Illinois, Brown landed in Clinton, Iowa. In July of 2021, Clinton police charged Brown with assault causing bodily injury, and then he quickly violated a no-contact order in the case. By August, however, the assault charge was dropped and Brown had to serve seven days in jail for violating the no-contact order.
In June of this year, the Clinton county sheriff charged Brown with violating Iowa’s sex offender registry, an aggravated misdemeanor. Brown entered a guilty plea to that charge and was sentenced in July to 60 days in jail – but 42 days were suspended, along with a fine, and he was put on probation for a year.
Apparently, Brown then left Clinton for greener pastures in Mason City – but he has found that things are not so rosy for him in River City. He moved into a run-down rental house at 309 West State Street. In November, Mason City police charged Brown with violating the Iowa sex offender registry. They also charged him with possession of drug paraphernalia.
Brown’s problems began to pile up further when in this month, Mason City police brought second charges of violating the registry and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Brown was arrested and booked into the Cerro Gordo county jail on the evening of December 4, 2024. He now awaits a preliminary hearing scheduled for the afternoon of December 11.