North Liberty man pleads guilty to sexually assaulting a teen

IOWA CITY — A North Liberty man, charged with sexually abusing a girl who was 12 or 13 years old in 2018, pleaded guilty to two of the nine counts charged this week in Johnson County District Court.

Bryan C. Bolling, 58, made an Alford plea to two counts of third-degree sexual abuse of the amended charges. He was charged with nine counts of third-degree sexual abuse. The other seven charges will be dismissed at sentencing as part of a plea agreement.

In an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit to the offense but admits the prosecution has enough evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The criminal complaints and a search warrant affidavit stated a girl was sexually assaulted June 1 through December 2018 by Bolling. The girl was interviewed at UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s Child Protection Center in Hiawatha and described multiple incidents of being sexually abused, according to the court documents.

A search warrant was obtained in December 2018 for Bolling’s residence. Officers found evidence that corroborated the victim’s account and collected DNA. The lab results indicated the DNA belonged to the victim, according to the affidavit filed in October 2019.

Bolling faces up to 20 years on both charges. He must comply with the sex offender registry requirements and serve a special sentence of parole because this is a sexual offense.

His sentencing is set for Oct. 18.

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