March 28, 2024

Brock pleads guilty to sexual exploitation, lascivious acts

A Newton man charged with seven counts stemming from an alleged child pornography operation found in his home last summer has pleaded guilty to two felony sex offenses against children.

James W. Brock, 72, was charged with second-degree sexual abuse, a Class B felony; three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a Class C felony; and three counts of invasion of privacy involving nudity, a serious misdemeanor. Tuesday, Jasper County Attorney Mike Jacobsen filed amended trial information, reducing the sexual abuse count to lascivious acts with a child, a Class C felony.

Wednesday morning, District Court Judge Richard Clogg accepted a plea agreement between the County Attorney’s Office and Brock’s attorney in which Brock pleaded guilty to the lascivious acts charge and one of the sexual exploitation charges. Clogg also ordered a pre-sentencing investigation and set a sentencing date of Monday, June 9.

In the meantime, Brock will remain in the Polk County Jail.

Police conducted a search of Brock’s home July 2, 2013, during which 1,648 VHS tapes, 25 DVDs, two computers and 12 cameras were discovered, all of them containing or used to produce child pornography. According to police, they were contacted three days earlier by the mother of a teenage boy who had been shown several photos of the inside of Brock’s house.

The boy allegedly had been shown the photos by a then-15-year-old girl who had frequented Brock’s home in the past two years, using a tanning bed and swimming pool there. Newton Police Detective Rob Burdess interviewed the mother and her 15- and 16-year-old daughters on July 2.

During the interview, the daughters stated they had been either partially or fully nude in the house while changing to use the tanning beds, the pool or showers. The 16-year-old she had recently forgot some items at Brock’s house and when she went to retrieve them, he led her to a room where she saw several TV screens and a large number of VHS tapes.

The 16-year-old told Burdess she entered Brock’s home on June 20, while Brock was outside of the residence, and took photos of the VHS tapes and video monitors. She showed these photos to Burdess and explained what they were of and where they were taken in the house.

Brock’s attorney had filed a motion to suppress the evidence in the search. A ruling on the motion had not yet been made, according to online court documents.

Brock had already pleaded guilty Feb. 19 to federal child pornography charges related to the search. In that case, he admitted to knowingly possessing child pornography he had produced in his home. He faces up to eight years in federal prison. Sentencing on those convictions will take place Wednesday, June 25.

Other Court Developments

In other court activity this week:

• Jena Wright, 25, of Prairie City was released from the Jasper County Jail on $50,000 bond. She was previously out on the same amount of bond, awaiting trial on a charge of child endangerment resulting in death, neglect of abandonment, assault on a peace officer and interference with official acts.

Wright was charged after a child in her care, 4-year-old Jordyn Arndt, was attacked by her family’s American Staffordshire dog. The child later died of her injuries. Wright is scheduled to go trial May 14 in that case.

March 15, she was arrested following a domestic incident at her home in which she is accused of domestic abuse assault, interference with official acts and obstructing emergency communications. She was arrested again March 20 for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Trial on those misdemeanor offenses has been set for May 13.

• William “Billy” Sanders, 40, has filed a written plea of not guilty to charges of intimidation with a dangerous weapon, willful injury, felon in possession of a firearm and false imprisonment, as well as a habitual offender sentence enhancer. In his arraignment, he did not waive his right to a speedy trial.

Rule 2.33 of the Iowa Rules of Criminal Procedure requires a case go to trial within 90 days of when the state files its trial information. The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office filed its charges against Sanders on Jan. 6, but he has been in federal custody on an alleged weapons offense since Dec. 31, three days after he was alleged to have assaulted his wife at their rural Sully home.

Pretrial conference has been set for Monday, April 14, and trial is set to begin Wednesday, April 30.

Daily News Editor Bob Eschliman may be contacted at (641) 792-3121, ext. 423, or at beschliman@newtondailynews.com.