Persons who conduct online buy-sell-trade transactions, or who have family or child custody matters, now have a safe place to do their in-person business in Montgomery County. Police in Red Oak have set-up a location for specific public business outside the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center.

The Purchase/Public Exchange location has been formally recognized, and is located in the 400 block of North 1st Street. Parking spaces for the spot will be on the west side of the street. Police say this location should be used by those individuals who are purchasing, selling or trading items online, and are meeting an unknown person for their transaction, or meeting for family or child custody exchanges.

The location chosen has 24-hour video surveillance, but not 24-hour monitoring. Questions may be directed to Police Chief Justin Rhamy at 712-623-6500.

Sheriff’s Officials in Guthrie County issued a statement Friday night with regard to an incident in Casey. Authorities said in a social media post:

“As some may be aware, there was a large law enforcement presence in the 100th block of West Grant (Friday night) in Casey. EMS and law enforcement were dispatched to a residence in the area for a medical call. Upon arrival, the scene was deemed unsafe by EMS and law enforcement. A perimeter was set up outside of the residence for approximately one hour.

(Cedar Rapids) – A man who traveled from Minnesota to Iowa to have sex with minors was sentenced (Friday) to 27 years in federal prison. 51-year old Terrance Nordwall, of Faribault, Minnesota, received the sentence after an October 31, 2019, jury verdict finding him guilty of attempted sex trafficking of children, attempted enticement of minors, and travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

The evidence at trial showed that, in March and April of 2019, Nordwall exchanged text messages with a man who he believed was a “pimp” with a 14-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl available. The man was actually an undercover law enforcement officer. Nordwall agreed to pay the pimp $200 for a half hour with the two girls, and he drove to the Cedar Rapids area, where he met law enforcement officers.

In 2004, in Minnesota, Nordwall was convicted of criminal sexual conduct in the third degree, two counts of criminal sexual conduct in the fifth degree, and possession of pornographic work involving minors. Nordwall was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Nordwall was sentenced to 324 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $300 was imposed, and Nordwall must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release. He must comply with all sex offender registration and public
notification requirements.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Iowa State Patrol, and the Hiawatha Police Department. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — One-third of Iowa’s state government isn’t ready to fully reopen any time soon as the coronavirus continues to infect and kill people across the state.The Iowa Judicial Branch announced Friday afternoon that it would cancel jury trials in criminal cases until Sept. 14, and push back any in-person proceedings until July 13.

Some hearings can begin July 13 or earlier if courthouses meet recommended safety protocols, but the use of teleconferences and video conferences will continue to be encouraged.Health officials have warned that crowded courtrooms could be venues to spread the virus to clerks, jurors, lawyers, witnesses, spectators and defendants.

DES MOINES, Iowa (The Des Moines Register) — A suburban Des Moines school district and a former student have reached a $900,000 settlement with a student who suffered permanent brain damage after being attacked at school. Audrey Vacek sued the Ankeny Community School District and another student after a 2016 attack. She alleged Mallory Schaubhut punched her in the face and slammed her head into a concrete wall.

The lawsuit said Schaubhut had verbally abused and threatened Vacek for a year before the attack. The Des Moines Register reports a settlement reached in late April requires the school district to pay $880,000 and Schaubhut to pay $20,000 to Vacek.