The former Creston police chief and his assistant have lost in another attempt to overturn their sexual abuse convictions. Former Creston assistant police chief, John Sickels, was convicted of second-degree sexual abuse and former chief, James Christensen, was found guilty of the same charge for aiding and abetting Sickels in an assault on a waitress at the local country club in April of 2008.
Testimony said Sickels had sex with the woman while Christensen stood by and did nothing to stop him. Sickels said during the trial that the woman agreed to the sex, and Christensen says he walked in on the two while it was going on. The two men appealed their convictions, saying there was not enough evidence to support their convictions, the district court erred in not excluding some evidence, and the court also erred in not dismissing the case.
The Iowa Court of Appeals issued a ruling in November that the two men were not deprived of their rights in the trial and upheld the convictions. The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled it will not take up the case for further review.
See the Appeals Court Ruling for Sickels here: Sickels appeal PDF