A jury today found a central Iowa law enforcement officer not guilty in a sexual abuse case. Clive Police Lieutenant John Brodersen was arrested in January after a woman claimed Brodersen sexually assaulted her at a neighborhood party. Brodersen was off duty at the time.
Brodersen’s attorney, Tom Graves, says he’s “relieved” with the jury’s verdict. “I got teary-eyed because my client needed this and he deserved an acquittal. Nothing else would have helped us, so it’s a tremendous feeling of relief,” Graves said. Brodersen, 47, was charged with assault with intent to commit sexual abuse.
Shortly after his arrest, Brodersen was placed on unpaid leave from the Clive Police Department. Graves said the biggest piece of evidence in the case was the recording of a 911 call placed by the victim’s husband.
The couple could be heard talking – apparently unaware the conversation was being recorded. “He’s telling her he wants to call 911, while she’s telling him ‘nothing happened.’ That was a huge point for us,” Graves said.
There were also several “inconsistencies” in the woman’s story, according to Graves. “The major one was the fact she’s on the 911 tape saying ‘nothing happened.’ The police arrived within an hour and she tells them she was touched and touched on her genitals. But, a couple days later, she tells the police that (Brodersen) just ‘tried to touch her,'” Graves said. “So, she changes that story very fast and very freely right in the beginning.”
Brodersen has been on the Clive Police force for nearly 25 years.