A northeast Iowa man, originally arrested on 10 charges related to sexual abuse of Boy Scouts, will plead guilty to three of those counts.
74-year-old James Hughes of Cresco was arrested in June 2023 on four counts of third-degree sexual abuse, all Class C felonies; and six counts of lascivious conduct with a minor, all serious misdemeanors.
A March 2021 Cresco Police report accused Hughes of sexually abusing a juvenile Boy Scout troop member over several years. Further investigation alleged he also sexually abused four other juvenile boys in his troop, as early as 2008 and as late as 2018.
On December 7th, two counts of sexual abuse and two counts of lascivious conduct were dismissed after it was learned that alleged “Victim #1” was unable to testify due to health concerns.
In mid-December Hughes filed for a change of venue for his trial, which was scheduled in Howard County District Court Wednesday (01.08), citing pretrial publicity making it impossible for him to get a fair trial in Howard County. The State concurred with that assessment.
However, a plea hearing was held on Monday (01.06), with Hughes agreeing to Alford Pleas on two counts of third-degree sexual abuse and one count of lascivious acts with a minor.
An Alford Plea does admit guilt, but the defendant concedes there’s enough evidence for a likely conviction at trial.
No sentencing date has been set for Hughes.
