Former Hancock County man convicted on sexual abuse, indecent contact charges

GARNER — A jury has found a former Hancock County man guilty of child sexual abuse.

39-year-old Charles Pennington, whose residence is now listed as New Virginia in central Iowa, was charged with two counts of third-degree sexual abuse and one count of indecent contact with a child.

A criminal complaint states that Garner police last year responded to a sexual abuse allegation, with the underage victim stating that sexual abuse and indecent contact started in about 2017 and continued until 2019.

A Hancock County jury on Thursday found Pennington guilty as charged on all three charges. Third-degree sexual abuse is a Class C felony, punishable by up to ten years in prison on each charge, while indecent contact is an aggravated misdemeanor, punishable by up to two years in prison.

Pennington is scheduled to be sentenced on January 7th in Hancock County District Court.