SIDNEY, Iowa (KMTV) — Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope isn't happy with the sentence a convicted sex offender received on Monday. In a press release, he outlined the investigation that went into the arrest of 81-year-old Ronald Boyer on two counts of lascivious acts with a child. Boyer was sentenced to two years of probation.
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- He'll be sent to a residential treatment facility “...until maximum benefits have been achieved as determined by the Department" of Corrections, wrote Judge Margaret Reyes in her sentencing order.
- “He needed to go to prison,” said the Sheriff. “He has made so many lives, ruined so many lives that that is a terrible sentence. I can’t believe a judge would do that.”
County Attorney Peter Johnson issued a statement:
"Ronald Boyer was sentenced to two 10-year sentences for two counts of lascivious acts with a child, a Class C Felony. In this case, our office worked extensively with those affected by Boyer’s actions and recommended, at sentencing, that the judge impose the strictest sentence allowable under Iowa law.The judge sentenced Boyer to a sentence allowable under Iowa law, but not to the level recommended by the State. Though disappointed in this outcome, Boyer currently remains incarcerated and will be transported to a locked residential treatment facility for the foreseeable future. The Fremont County Attorney’s Office, with assistance from law enforcement and the Iowa Department of Corrections will ensure that Boyer strictly abides by all terms of his lifetime special sentence, sex offender registry requirements, and his probation as ordered by the judge.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
The sentencing of an elderly Sidney, Iowa man on child sex abuse charges earlier in the week prompted a fiery response from the Fremont County Sheriff. I’m Southwest Iowa neighborhood reporter Katrina Markel in Sidney.
I’m here to find out what was behind this seemingly lenient sentence
“He confessed to doing sex assaults for 40 years,” said Sheriff Kevin Aistrope.
Eighty-one-year-old Ronald Dean Boyer pleaded guilty to two counts of lascivious acts with a child. The county attorney asked for the maximum allowable sentence: two, ten-year terms. But on Monday, Judge Margaret Reyes suspended the prison sentence and, instead, sentenced Boyer to two years probation. That probation includes being sent to a rehabilitation facility.
Aistrope is skeptical of the decision.
“He needed to go to prison,” said the Sheriff. “He has made so many lives, ruined so many lives that that is a terrible sentence. I can’t believe a judge would do that.”
I learned through my reporting on Wednesday that — in this case — the two-year probation doesn’t mean that Boyer will be home or free to move about unmonitored.
In a statement, the county attorney said, in part: "Though disappointed in this outcome, Boyer currently remains incarcerated and will be transported to a locked residential treatment facility for the foreseeable future.”
The judge cited the defendant’s age as one of the reasons for sending him to rehabilitation for sex offenders. He will also remain on the sex offender registry. In her sentencing order, Reyes ordered that Reyes remain at the facility “...Until maximum benefits have been achieved as determined by the department.”
The sheriff, though, worries about other victims: “They might not come forward.”
Sheriff Aistrope says there are still ongoing investigations connected to this case and that abuse victims shouldn’t hesitate to reach out to law enforcement.
