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Court of Appeals upholds sex abuse conviction for Jesup man serving life in prison
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier - 8/3/2022
Aug. 3—JESUP — The Iowa Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of a former Jesup man sentenced to life in prison for allegedly repeatedly molesting a teen.
On appeal, Clarence Elton Widner, now 64, argued there wasn't sufficient evidence to back his conviction for third-degree sexual abuse as a repeat offender.
Authorities said Widner had sexual contact with a 17-year-old boy in 2018 and 2019 against the teen's will and once while the teen was asleep, according to court records.
Widner was arrested in December 2019 after the teen told school officials and others about the abuse. During the investigation, Widner said he had consensual sexual contact with the teen and denied having sexual contact while the teen was asleep.
Widner waived a jury trial and allowed a judge to render a verdict in a trial based on investigative records and reports.
Punishment in the case was enhanced because Widner had two prior sex crime convictions — for having sexual contact with a 4-year-old girl in 1985 and fondling a 9-year-old girl in 1994 — and he was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years for failing to register as a sex offender in October 2021.
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