Convicted Iowa City guidance counselor appeals

Former elementary guidance counselor Donald Clark, sentenced to serve up to 25 years in prison for sexually abusing a child has filed for an appeal, according to court documents.

Clark, who has proclaimed his innocence, was convicted in February to second-degree sexual abuse after a Johnson County jury convicted him of sexually abusing a fifth-grade student during the 2003-04 school year.

Clark is appealing the decision of Judge Douglas Russell from a March 18 hearing, where the request for a new trial and arrest of judgment were denied.

Clark's attorney, John Robertson, argued that no physical evidence was presented at trial and that the testimony did not provide enough substance to prove Clark's guilt. He also claimed that a letter the victim wrote to his parents regarding the abuse allegations was provided just days before the trial began and that the denial for a continuance violated Clark's right to a fair trial.

Assistant Johnson County Attorney Anne Lahey argued that Robertson furnished sufficient cross-examination about the letter and said the court was not prejudiced in denying the continuance.

The victim and his family spoke at the sentencing hearing earlier this month about how Clark destroyed their lives, but Clark accused the victim of falsifying the entire story.

A judge ordered Clark to serve 70 percent of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole. The family is requesting more than $70,000 in restitution.