Cresco man charged with sexually abusing Boy Scouts while serving as troop leader

CRESCO — A Cresco man was arrested Wednesday on charges he sexually abused multiple Boy Scouts over a decade while serving as a troop leader in Cresco.

James Hughes, 73, is charged with four counts of third-degree sexual abuse and six counts of lascivious conduct with a minor, according to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.

The investigation started March 18, 2021, when a Boy Scout filed a report of sexual abuse with the Cresco Police Department. The police department requested the Iowa DCI help with an investigation, which led to the discovery of several other instances of sexual abuse between Hughes and other juvenile Boy Scouts, authorities said.

According to criminal complaints, Hughes committed sexual abuse or misconduct against five boys, each between the ages of 13 and 16 at the time. The abuse spanned between 2008 and 2018, the records show.

Hughes, a licensed physical therapist, regularly would have boys over to his house, each alone, to help with their Personal Fitness Merit Badge, the complaints state. He would have the boys remove their clothes to take bodily measurements, which he told them were part of working for the badge. Earning the badge does not require such measurements, however.

Hughes also provided unpaid physical therapy, in his home, to one of the boys who was recovering from a hip surgery, according to a search warrant request. During the sessions, he would sometime sexually abuse the boy, the complaints state.

As part of the investigation, Cresco police and DCI officers conducted search warrants of Hughes’ house and electronics. They discovered multiple labeled images showing young men and boys engaging in sexual activity, according to the criminal complaints.

According to the search warrant request, investigators also subpoenaed Hughes’ personnel files from his previous workplaces — the regional health center in Cresco, Mayo Hospitals & Clinics in Rochester, Minn., and the Winneshiek County Medical Center in Decorah — and found two documented incidents in which female co-workers reported feeling uncomfortable with him because he stared at their chests during conversations.

Hughes was taken into custody Wednesday as this home in Cresco and was being held at the Howard County Jail on a $46,000 cash bail or surety bond.

The DCI and Cresco Police Department were aided in their investigation by the Howard County Attorney’s Office and the Iowa Attorney General’s Office.

Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com