Former Mason City police officers denies wrongdoing in sex abuse case

The sexual abuse trial of a former Mason City Police Officer continues today in Cerro Gordo County District Court. 38-year-old Dan Mason was charged after the woman accused him of sexually abusing her while he was off duty. Mason took the stand in his own defense Wednesday. In questioning by his attorney Patrick Byrne, Mason said the woman consented to the sexual activity. He asked Mason if the woman gave him any indication that she was not a willing participant in the physical exchange, and Mason replied, “No not at all.” Mason told the jury that he was bewildered by a call from the accuser’s roommate nearly a week after the incident that was being taped by the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation. He says after that call he tried to call the alleged victim around an hour later. The attorney asked Mason why he called her, and he said he was trying to figure out what was happening as he was in a “state of shock or confusion.” Mason also testified that he met the alleged victim in September of last year and that they saw each other nearly every day for about six weeks before the relationship changed. He says that the alleged victim dictated when they saw each other. He says, “It was always up to her the amount of time that we saw each other. If she want to see me, I made time for her. If she wanted to go out with her friends, she’d go out with her friends. I was fine either way, whatever she wanted to do.” Mason is charged with third-degree sexual abuse. He will face two more trials after this one is completed on another charge of third-degree sexual abuse and another on charges of second degree burglary and assault with the intent to commit sexual abuse.