Iowa statute
Iowa Code § 709.23 — Continuous sexual abuse of a child
Current through 2026 Iowa Code (enactments effective on or before 2026-01-01, through the 2025 Regular Session, 91st G.A.)
Part of Chapter 709: Sexual Abuse, Iowa Code.
Criminal charges under this statute
Full text of Iowa Code § 709.23
Statutory text current through the 2026 Iowa Code (enactments effective on or before 2026-01-01, through the 2025 Regular Session, 91st G.A.). This publication reproduces the statutory text of the official 2026 Iowa Code (Legislative Services Agency); it is not the official publication of the State of Iowa.
1. A person eighteen years of age or older commits continuous sexual abuse of a child when the person engages in any combination of three or more acts of sexual abuse with the same child, and at least thirty days have elapsed between the first and last acts of sexual abuse.
2. A person who commits continuous sexual abuse of a child is, upon conviction, guilty of a class “B” felony. Notwithstanding section 902.9, subsection 1, paragraph “b”, a person convicted of a violation of this section shall be confined for no more than fifty years.
3. If a jury is the trier of fact, members of the jury must unanimously agree that three or more acts of sexual abuse were committed with the same child and at least thirty days have elapsed between the first and last acts of sexual abuse. The jury does not need to unanimously agree which specific acts were committed or the exact date when those acts were committed.
4. Any other sexual abuse offense involving the same child shall not be charged in the same proceeding as a charge under this section unless the other sexual abuse offense occurred outside of the time period charged under this section or the other sexual abuse offense is charged in the alternative.
5. A person shall be charged with only one count under this section unless more than one child is involved in the offense. If more than one child is involved, a separate count may be charged for each child.
6. Each act of sexual abuse committed under section 709.3 shall be considered a lesser included offense to the crime of continuous sexual abuse of a child under this section.
Official sources
Legal terms used in this section
This reference is informational and is not legal advice.