Former state employee working with at-risk youth charged with sex exploitation, misconduct

A former therapist at the State Training School in Eldora was charged this week with sexual exploitation and misconduct with a student she was assigned to help.

Sarah Perry, 39, of Marshalltown, was arrested on a warrant and charged with two counts of sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist — one a felony and the other a serious misdemeanor — and sexual misconduct with an offender, an aggravated misdemeanor.

Perry is accused of having numerous phone calls with a student assigned to her while he was at the facility, discussing personal things in her life and engaging in sexually explicit conversations with the teen, according to a criminal complaint filed in district court in Hardin County, where the school is located.

The school, run by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, houses youth under age 18 who have been found delinquent in juvenile court for committing crimes.

Perry and the teen also discussed having sex while the teen was on a home visit from the training school, the complaint states.

According to the complaint, Perry had been the teen’s therapist from August 2022 until September 2023.

Perry turned herself in Wednesday at the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office after being made aware of the warrant, Chad Frese, her lawyer, said court motion filed Thursday.

He asked the court to release Perry on a personal recognizance bond subject to pretrial supervision, stating she had four children and was employed and self-employed in various jobs to support her family. A judge released her Thursday without bail to pretrial supervision in Hardin County.

The Eldora Police Department was made aware of the allegations against Perry about Oct. 29, Chief Nick Hassebrock told The Gazette on Friday. Perry was removed from her staff position Oct. 30, he said.

“The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services recently became aware of serious allegations regarding a staff member at the State Training School in Eldora and took immediate action to ensure the safety of students on campus,” Alex Carfrae, public information officer with department, said in a statement. “The employee was placed on administrative leave and local law enforcement officials were notified. The employee was subsequently terminated.”

Training school staff have been “working closely” with law enforcement to support the investigation, Carfrae said.

“Over the past few years we have overhauled STS operations to create a therapeutic environment to support the needs of our students and remain committed to their well-being,” Carfrae said. “The safety and well-being of our students is our highest priority and we take these matters incredibly seriously.”

If Perry is convicted, she faces up to seven years in prison.

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