EXCLUSIVE: Thousands of domestic abusers are getting away with it despite Iowa's get-tough laws

Kathy A. Bolten | The Des Moines Register

Show Caption Hide Caption Why are many domestic abusers not prosecuted in Iowa? More than 6,430 Iowans were a victim of domestic violence in 2016. However, many offenders responsible for the violence are not prosecuted, a Des Moines Register investigation found.

First in a series examining Iowa's struggle to protect victims from chronic domestic abusers.

© Copyright 2017, Des Moines Register and Tribune Co.

In June 2013, Ryder Lee Sisco was arrested in Davenport after he was accused of choking his live-in girlfriend and slamming her against a wall so hard she cut her head.

But the domestic abuse charges against him were dropped when the woman refused to cooperate with prosecutors.

Two years later, Sisco was arrested again, this time for attacking a different woman he was living with in Jackson County. He wrapped a T-shirt around her neck as he sexually assaulted her, court documents say.

This time, Sisco was sent to prison.

Alarmed by the number of serious and repeated cases of domestic abuse, Iowa lawmakers passed legislation earlier this year that will mete out stiffer penalties to repeat offenders starting July 1.

But the new law may be handcuffed by an Iowa justice system that has a mediocre track record of successfully prosecuting abusers, a Des Moines Register investigation shows.

Over the past seven years, more than 58,700 domestic abuse charges were filed in Iowa. But more than 23,600 of those charges — or 40 percent — were dismissed, a Register review of Iowa Justice Data Warehouse statistics shows.

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“It will be hard to make this new law work if we don’t hold people accountable for their actions,” said Tiffany Allison, a domestic abuse survivor who for more than five years pushed for passage of stronger sanctions for repeat offenders.

Iowa county prosecutors say they often have little choice but to dismiss charges because many victims refuse to testify against their abusers, or they recant accounts of attacks.

Allison can relate. Her former boyfriend made her call police and ask them to drop the domestic assault charges filed against him, she said.

"I never really wanted to do that,” she said. “My fear is that county attorneys are not getting to the real issue of why the victim is asking for charges to be dropped.

“If charges are dropped, it makes me wonder how effective this new law will be.”

Different counties, different results

Last year, at least 6,431 Iowans — more than three-fourths of them women — were victims of some form of domestic violence, slightly more than the previous year, state Uniform Crime Report data shows.

The number isn’t an accurate reflection of the prevalence of domestic violence in Iowa because many victims don’t report assaults, experts say.

What is known is that over the past seven years, an average of 8,400 domestic abuse charges were filed annually in Iowa — about 23 per day, justice warehouse data shows.

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An average of 3,300 domestic abuse charges, or nearly 40 percent, were dismissed each year.

And in those cases that did end in convictions, more than half were to reduced charges, the Register found.

The Register also found that success rates in pursuing domestic abuse charges vary widely among Iowa’s county prosecutors.

Pottawattamie County, which includes Council Bluffs, dismissed 82 percent of its domestic abuse charges, Iowa's highest rate.

Six other counties — Davis, Hamilton, Harrison, Monroe, Montgomery and Sac — each dismissed three-fourths or more of domestic abuse charges.

Polk and Linn counties, the most populous in the state, had dismissal rates of about one-third, below the state average.

Marion County, which includes Knoxville and Pella, had the state’s lowest dismissal rate at 19 percent.

It’s not unusual for victims to ask that charges be dropped or to be uncooperative during an investigation, said Ed Bull, Marion’s county attorney since 2011. Victims often feel financial or family pressure, such as when the offender’s family provides child care for the couple's children.

Marion County frequently proceeds with charges regardless.

“I understand the reasons why they want the case to be dismissed and the pressures and power put to bear on them by the abuser,” Bull said. “If we don’t intervene, the amount of abuse and the degree of abuse likely will increase.”

Bull said he and others on his staff work to make the person who was allegedly attacked understand that it’s up to prosecutors whether to pursue a case.

INTERACTIVE: See domestic abuse cases county-by-county by the numbers

Law enforcement officers gather as much evidence as possible to help with getting a conviction, from neighbors’ statements to 911 recordings, he said.

In addition, officers gather photographic evidence, including marks on victims and broken pieces of furniture.

“In the end, it’s my responsibility to hold criminals accountable for their actions — and get them refocused so they do not do this again,” said Nicole Leonard, an assistant Marion county attorney. “I won’t pressure (victims) to be involved, but I do look for other solutions to resolve the case.”

The 'no-drop' policy

Iowa, like 20 other states, requires law enforcement officers to make an arrest in domestic abuse incidents when evidence exists that a weapon was used or an injury occurred.

However, Iowa does not allow "no-drop" policies that prohibit prosecutors from dismissing charges when victims are uncooperative.

The policies, popular in the 1990s, were a way to combat high dismissal rates of domestic abuse charges, according to a policy brief by the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Wider Opportunities for Women.

The tactic, which resulted in more convictions of domestic abuse offenders, was expensive to enforce. Prosecutors also were uncomfortable with forcing unwilling victims to cooperate in the justice process, the group reported.

“I leave it completely up to the victim,” said Bruce Swanson, Montgomery County attorney since 1991. “Over time, I have found it virtually impossible to take a case to trial without a victim.”

Swanson said he asks victims to put in writing their request to drop domestic abuse charges and also asks whether they are afraid of their alleged abuser or are being pressured to ask for the charges to be dropped.

Montgomery County dismissed 86 percent of the 301 simple and serious misdemeanor domestic abuse charges filed in the seven years reviewed by the Register.

Nearly half of the county's 39 aggravated misdemeanors were dismissed, including 11 in which the accused person had a weapon or threatened to use it.

Swanson said he is concerned for victims who request charges to be dropped. “I’m always thinking: Is this lady going to end up dead tomorrow?”

It's offenders like Sisco, now serving a life prison sentence, that Allison fears will avoid Iowa’s new harsher sentencing laws for habitual offenders because prosecutors won’t pursue charges unless a victim is cooperative.

“Prosecutors need to be having very thorough conversations with victims about what happens if they don’t follow through and (the offender) harms someone else,” she said.

That said, many domestic abuse victims’ advocates support the practice of prosecutors allowing victims to decide whether charges should be pursued.

If a domestic abuser is convicted of an aggravated misdemeanor, the mandatory minimum sentence in Iowa is two days in jail.

Most get credit for the time they were behind bars when they were arrested, said Kristen Faisal, director of training and technical assistance for the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

“Is that going to change that (abuser’s) behavior?” she asked. “Probably not. … But certainly, going through that whole court process is going to increase (a victim’s) chance of being abused again.”

What's best for victims?

On average, it takes domestic abuse victims seven attempts at leaving before they make a successful exit from a relationship, according to The National Domestic Violence Hotline.

It’s that statistic that Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber said he keeps in mind when victims ask his office to drop a domestic abuse charge.

“Until (victims) are willing to leave that relationship, I think all we can really do is be there to support them, get them into services and make sure we hook them up with an advocate so that they understand that what they are going through is not right,” he said.

Wilber said he’s not concerned that his county has the state’s highest domestic abuse charge dismissal rate. He said his staff does what’s in the best interest of the county’s residents, which include victims.

“If they want us to go forward, we go forward," he said. "If they want us to dismiss the charges, usually we honor that request.”

Sac County Attorney Ben Smith takes a similar approach. Three years ago, Smith said he routinely moved forward with domestic abuse cases over victims' objections.

"I looked at victims as evidence, not people,” he said. “What happened outside the courtroom didn’t concern me.”

But after training he received, “I realized that they are real people with real lives and real problems that need to be worked out.”

Smith said he doesn’t want to revictimize people who are abused by forcing them to cooperate with prosecutors.

“I want them to call 911" if they are abused again, he said. "I don’t want them to fear that I will put them through the wringer. I want them to be safe.”

Diane McKee, program manager of Catholic Charities Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Program in Pottawattamie County, said she appreciates the county attorneys who listen to victims' wishes.

“It’s always a tough and delicate balance because we want to hold that offender accountable,” she said. “And I think they are held accountable at that initial arrest because law enforcement was called because violence occurred.”

Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Bondurant, who helped shepherd the domestic abuse bill through the Legislature this year, said he understands prosecutors’ reasons for not pursuing charges but is frustrated that offenders aren’t being held accountable.

“Does the new law solve all aspects of domestic abuse? No,” Nunn said. “But there will be a required penalty for habitual offenders, and survivors now know that. Maybe that will help some to be more willing to go forward with charges.”

Highlights of new domestic violence law

Here are highlights of House File 263, passed by the Iowa Legislature this session:

Requires that those convicted of a third or subsequent domestic abuse charge serve at least one-fifth of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole and attend domestic violence treatment.

Makes placing an unauthorized tracking device on a person or object a serious misdemeanor.

Allows the use of electronic monitoring of a person convicted of domestic abuse.

Warning signs of domestic abuse

Control

You can't make decisions without partner's approval.

You need your partner's permission to do things.

You can't express your opinion or feelings around your partner.

Humiliation

Your partner embarrasses you and makes fun of you in front of family and friends.

Your partner says horrible things about you, and you begin to believe they are true.

You feel like you are nothing without your partner.

Guilt

Your partner says he or she lost control because of alcohol, drugs or something you did.

You make excuses to family and friends for your partner.

Nothing you do makes your partner happy.

Intimidation

You often give in to your partner out of fear of what his/her reaction will be.

Fear

You are afraid of your partner.

Your partner has used violence in the past to get his/her way.

You can't leave out of fear of what your partner will do.

Source: Domestic Violence Services, a program of Children & Families of Iowa

Hotline

Iowa Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-770-1650

About this project

In its investigation into Iowa’s efforts to protect domestic abuse victims, The Des Moines Register obtained seven years of state- and county-level data from the Iowa Justice Data Warehouse.

Data that was analyzed by Kathy Bolten included the number of charges by level of offense such as domestic assault abuse-first offense and domestic assault abuse-impeding blood or air flow. The data, which was broken down by year and county, also included the disposition of the charge.

In addition, Bolten obtained information about nearly 4,000 domestic abuse-strangulation cases adjudicated in Iowa’s district courts from July 1, 2012, to Dec. 31, 2016.

The data, obtained from the Iowa Judicial Branch, contained information about offenders, including their charges and convictions. Bolten also reviewed nearly 200 court case files of Iowans charged with domestic abuse.

In addition, Bolten interviewed nearly 40 people about domestic abuse including advocates, county prosecutors, judges, victims and lawmakers.

Got a news tip?

The investigation of Iowa’s prosecution of domestic violence cases is the most recent project by the Register's award-winning investigative team. If you have a news tip, contact one of our team members:

Kathy A. Bolten, investigative reporter, (515) 284-8283, kbolten@dmreg.com

Jason Clayworth, investigative reporter, (515) 699-7058, jclayworth@dmreg.com

Lee Rood, investigative reporter/Reader’s Watchdog, (515) 284-8549, lrood@dmreg.com

Mike Trautmann, content strategist, business/investigations (515) 284-8546, mtrautmann@dmreg.com