Regina Zilbermints

Des Moines Register

An Iowa state representative was arrested today on a charge of sexual abuse, officials said.

Rep. Henry Rayhons, R-Garner, who represents House District 8, was charged with third-degree sexual abuse, a Class C felony.

The charge stems from an alleged incident the evening of May 23 at the Concord Care Center in Garner, authorities said.

Rayhons, 78, is accused of having sex with his wife, Donna, who did not have the mental capacity to consent, according to a criminal complaint.

The complaint said that Rayhons was told on May 15 that Donna Rayhons did not have the cognitive ability to give consent to any sexual activity. On May 23, Henry Rayhons went into his wife's room and pulled the curtain closed, the complaint said. Donna Rayhon's roommate told authorities that she "heard noises indicating to her that" Henry Rayhons was having sex with Donna Rayhons, the complaint said. Surveillance video showed Henry Rayhons leaving his wife's room and discarding undergarments into a laundry bag, the complaint said.

In June, a Hancock County District Court judge issued an order that named Suzan Brunes, Donna Rayhons' daughter, her mother's temporary guardian, according to a story in the Mason City Globe Gazette.

Donna and Henry Rayhon were married in 2007.

Donna Rayhons, 78, died on Aug. 8.

Henry Rayhons was arrested today and taken to the Hancock County Jail.

An employee of the Hancock County Attorney's Office on Friday said the case would be prosecuted by the state Attorney General's Office. That office did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Iowa House Republican leaders did to respond to requests for comment, and a spokeswoman said they would not issue a statement or be available for interviews.

An attorney for Brunes, the daughter of Donna Rayhons, was not available Friday afternoon, an employee of his office said.

Elizabeth Barnhill, executive director of the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault, said it used to be legal for a man to have sex with his wife against her will. But the Iowa Legislature passed a bill about 25 years ago that defined such an act as a crime.

Even with the law in place, few Iowans are arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a spouse, Barnhill said. "Convictions are even rarer," she said.

Barnhill added that sex-assault prosecutions can be especially complicated if a victim has died or is mentally incompetent to testify about what happened.

Henry Rayhons, a nine-term incumbent, had abruptly withdrawn his re-election bidearlier this month after previously registering as a candidate. In the statement announcing his exit from the contest, Rayhons said he had "ongoing family and health matters to attend to."

Rayhons said when he withdrew that he intended to complete his current term, which ends in January. A spokeswoman for Iowa House Republicans said Friday he has not resigned his seat.

Party officials nominated a new candidate for his seat, Terry Baxter, of Garner, in a special convention on Thursday.