An eight-person jury in Atlantic deliberated for less than two-hours Wednesday afternoon before finding an Adair man to be a sexually violent predator. According to Cass County District Court documents, 52-year old David Charles Whetstone was remitted to the custody of the Director of the Department of Human Services, where he will be controlled, receive care and treatment for “His mental abnormality” until he is deemed safe for placement in a transitional release program, or discharged. The court made it clear his was a civil, and NOT a criminal, commitment.

Whetstone was immediately sent to the DHS Civil Commitment Unit for Sexual Offenders on the campus of the Cherokee Mental Health Institute, in Cherokee, where in addition to treatment, he will receive an annual medical examination of his mental state of being. The judge also said Whetstone must register as a sex offender before he is released from confinement, and submit a sample of his DNA to be kept on file. The sentence is subject to appeal.

In May 2008, Whetstone was found guilty of Assault with the Intent to Commit Sexual Abuse, an aggravated serious misdemeanor offense. The incident which led to his arrest and conviction occurred on April 4th, 2008. He was sentenced in August of that year to a two-year prison term. Prior to his release from prison and parole, the Iowa Attorney General’s Office filed a petition to have Whetstone committed, as an “extremely dangerous sexually violent predator.”

A little more than two-years earlier, Whetstone pled guilty to a charge of Disorderly Conduct, and was ordered to pay a $100 fine, following an incident which occurred between Whetstone and Greenfield Republican Representative Clel Baudler. Baulder told KJAN News in February 2006, that Whetstone had been harassing him for nearly a year, and had made veiled threats against his life.