Already convicted on federal child porn charge, Mason City man sentenced for lascivious acts with a child

MASON CITY — A Mason City man recently sentenced to a dozen years in prison on a federal child pornography charge now has been sentenced to five years in state prison on a child sexual abuse charge.

46-year-old Cleon Mitchell Junior was charged last November with one count of second-degree sexual abuse, a Class B felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison. A criminal complaint stated that Mitchell was accused of committing sexual abuse of a child under the age of 13 between January 2023 and July 2024.

As part of a plea agreement, Mitchell filed an Alford plea to one count of lascivious acts with a child, a Class D felony. With an Alford plea, a person does not admit guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence for a likely conviction. As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors recommended a five-year prison sentence, with any term consecutive to any federal prosecution. District Judge DeDra Schroeder agreed with that recommendation when sentencing Mitchell on Monday in Cerro Gordo County District Court.

Mitchell was sentenced last week in US Federal Court in Sioux City to 12 years after he pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography.