Board suspends license of Iowa nurse charged in child-porn case

State regulators have issued an emergency order suspending the license of a registered nurse who provided home health care for disabled children and is now facing charges related to child pornography.

The Iowa Board of Nursing has issued an emergency order suspending the license of registered nurse Kenneth Wayne Clark of Ankeny. The order is based on a disciplinary charge that Clark has engaged in unethical behavior or practices that are harmful or detrimental to the public by acting in a manner that is contradictory to professional decorum.

Court records show that on Aug. 1, 2025, Wayne’s home and vehicle were searched by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office alleges it found methamphetamine, psilocybin mushrooms, and marijuana, as well as multiple pieces of drug paraphernalia — including glass pipes, bongs and storage containers for marijuana and methamphetamine.

On Sept. 9, 2025, Ankeny police alleged that from March 1, 2025, to July 30, 2025, Clark knowingly and unlawfully downloaded or possessed on his cellphone videos that are “consistent with child sexual abuse material.”

Prosecutors have charged Clark with 10 counts of purchasing or possessing the depiction of a minor engaged in a sex act. Police records indicate there are more than “2,600 unclassified videos and 60,511 images” at issue in the case, including at least 50 videos “consistent with child sex abuse material” that were allegedly downloaded onto the phone.

Last month, the court entered a no-contact order against Clark barring any contact with minors. The Board of Nursing alleges the no-contact order is particularly relevant to its emergency order in that Clark was “doing in-home care for disabled children” prior to his arrest.

The board alleges Clark declined to sign a voluntary agreement not to practice nursing while the court case is pending, resulting in the emergency order.

Clark has been an Iowa-licensed registered nurse since 1997, according to state records.

This article first appeared in the Iowa Capital Dispatch.