Iowa City man accused of inappropriate contact with boy

IOWA CITY - An Iowa City man is accused of having inappropriate contact with a boy earlier this year.

Officers were called to a home in Iowa City in early March for a report of potential child abuse, according to an Iowa City police criminal complaint. The boy's mother told police that 55-year-old Earl D. Phillips had been staying at the residence, but she kicked him out the day before.

After Phillips was gone, the boy told his mother he had been abused by Phillips, police said. During a forensic interview, the boy described Phillips touching him inappropriately.

Police said Phillips denied the allegations, but he was arrested last week and faces one count of lascivious acts with a child, a Class C felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

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