Former Marion man pleads to repeatedly sexually abusing a child for over 3 years

CEDAR RAPIDS — A former Marion man, who was set to go to trial last month, pleaded to lesser charges for sexually abusing a child over a period of three years from 2018 to 2021.

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Jason Lee Daniels, 53, pleaded Aug. 21, to three charges of lascivious acts with a child — solicitation, dominion/control of a firearm by domestic abuser and assault with intent to commit sexual abuse in Linn County District Court. He was originally charged with three counts of sexual-degree sexual abuse.

Daniels repeatedly sexually assaulted a child between Jan. 1, 2018 and March 7, 2021 in Marion. The child told a forensic interviewer at the St. Luke’s Child Protection Center in Hiawatha that Daniels had repeatedly sexually abused her since she was 5 years old.

The girl told investigators Daniels, who was grooming the child, would give her gifts if she didn’t resist him, the complaint stated.

Investigators obtained a search warrant and collected physical evidence at Daniels’ residence that corroborated the girl’s account, according to the complaint.

During the search, law enforcement also found three firearms that Daniels isn’t legally allowed to possess because he has a previous domestic abuse conviction in Polk County.

Daniels fled Iowa after police opened the investigation. He was arrested on a warrant June 2, 2021 in Port St. Lucie, Fla., after Marion police tracked him to the city of 200,000 on the east coast of Florida with the help of Port St. Lucie police and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Marion Police Lt. Phil Fort said two Marion investigators went to Port St. Lucie after learning Daniels was there. The Marion officers and local police arrested Daniels at the home where he was living, and he was extradited back to Iowa later that month.

He faces up to 22 years in prison. He also will have to serve a special sentence of parole for 10 years and comply with the sex offender registry for life.

Daniels will ask the court for a suspended sentence and probation.

Daniels’ trial was delayed 11 times, mostly at the request of his defense for various reasons. This case is one example of many sex abuse cases that have been lingering in the system for more than two years. A prosecutor’s review of the cases found some — like Daniels — had been pending three or four years.

In April, The Gazette reported Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks and 6th Judicial District Chief Judge Lars Anderson started working on a plan to resolve the backlog in order to provide justice for the defendants and victims in these cases. However, Maybanks and Anderson said it may take some time to accomplish.

Trish Mehaffey covers state and federal courts for The Gazette

Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com