North Liberty man convicted on 40 counts of sexually abusing child

IOWA CITY — A North Liberty man was convicted Friday on 40 counts of second-degree sexual abuse and could face up to life in prison if a judge runs each 25-year sentence consecutively.

Sixth Judicial District Judge Andrew Chappell filed his written verdict after Thomas Dean Jesse waived his right to trial and opted to have a stipulated trial based the minutes of testimony — a summary of evidence, including any witness statements.

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Jesse, 38, was charged in January 2022 after a relative saw his laptop with videos that depicted dozens of separate acts of Jesse sexually abusing a 5- or 6-year-old boy, according to the verdict. The incidents, involving the same boy, happened on or about July of 2020, August 2020, January 2021 and March 1 through October 2021.

The videos were recorded in various rooms of a house, two cars and outdoors. There were 154 videos found, and 124 of those depicted 41 separate incidents of sexual abuse. An investigator prepared a spreadsheet of the separate incidents and Chappell lists the graphic evidence in his verdict, which he is required to do.

Chappell, in his verdict, said all the evidence is “unrebutted.”

The prosecution has proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Jesse committed at least 40 different sex acts with the victim, based on review of the evidence, Chappell said.

“I am pleased the defendant will be held accountable for his horrific crimes against a vulnerable child,” Johnson County Attorney Rachel Zimmermann Smith told The Gazette on Friday. “The amount of video evidence in this case presented some unusual challenges. The verdict is a testament to the hard work of Assistant Johnson County Attorney Oubonh White and the rest of my team, the investigators at the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, and J-FACT cyber evidence team.”

Jesse’s sentencing is set for June 23 in Johnson County District Court.

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