MASON CITY – A Mason City man who claimed innocence in his child sex abuse case has changed his tune, and is now behind bars, after a judge issued a warrant for his arrest.
NIT reported in December 2024 that 20-year-old Jackson Elvin Oetken, last known address of Mason City, was booked into the Cerro Gordo county jail on December 4, 2024. A warrant had been issued for Oetken’s arrest on December 3, 2024, after Mason City police brought charges the day before of third-degree sexual abuse (Iowa code 709.4(1)(a) – a class C felony) and third-degree sexual abuse of a child victim (Iowa code 709.4(1)(b)(2)(d) – a class C felony).
Iowa law states:
709.4(1)(b)(2)(d):
A person commits sexual abuse in the third degree when the person performs a sex act under any of the following circumstances: The act is between persons who are not at the time cohabiting as husband and wife and if any of the following are true: The other person is fourteen or fifteen years of age and any of the following are true: The person is four or more years older than the other person
709.4(1)(a)
A person commits sexual abuse in the third degree when the person performs a sex act under any of the following circumstances:
a. The act is done by force or against the will of the other person, whether or not the other
person is the person’s spouse or is cohabiting with the person.
Allegedly, Oetken committed these crimes on October 1, 2023, in Mason City.
Oetken, a 2022 graduate of Mason City High School, entered a not-guilty plea in this case in December and was released from jail, but now has entered a guilty plea.
Oetken found himself in trouble up in Mitchell county this past January, accused of a weapons crime, but the charge was dropped. He was, however, ordered by a judge to pay $636.00 in court costs.
Monday morning, Oetken found himself in the Cerro Gordo county jail after a judge issued a warrant for his arrest on April 15. He is accused of a pre-trial violation in his sex abuse case.
Judge Dedra Schroeder accepted Oetken’s plea deal on March 31 and scheduled a sentencing hearing for June 23 at 10:30 AM.