Iowa City man who pleaded guilty in exposure case has case dismissed

A Sigourney man who originally pleaded guilty to exposing himself to a 10-year-old girl at a Coralville store in 2008 has had his case dismissed.

Joel A. Hollingsworth, 43, pleaded guilty in Johnson County District Court in August 2008 to indecent exposure and was sentenced to 180 days in jail and supervised probation for two years.

The original sentence did not include an additional 10-year parole sentence. This past February, the Iowa Court of Appeals allowed Hollingsworth to withdraw his plea and sent the case back to district court. A trial was set for June 21.

Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness, however, asked that the case be dismissed. She said in court papers that the victim's parents said the girl, now 12, was “very traumatized” by the events that led to the charge and they didn't think it was in her best interest to have to testify now.

Prosecutors determined the case could not proceed without the victim's testimony – something the parents were told – and prosecutors would not force her to testify, Lyness said.

Judge Marsha Bergen granted the motion to dismiss on June 10.