GRINNELL, Iowa (AP) - A former Iowa law enforcement officer who fled the state after allegedly threatening to kill several family members has been charged with sexually abusing children.
Jonathan Wayne Bailey, 35, has been charged with eight counts of child endangerment, seven counts of second-degree sexual abuse and one count of sexual exploitation, the Des Moines Register reported. The newspaper said Bailey is a former Polk County Jail detention officer and former Eagle Grove police officer.
Bailey was arrested Nov. 21 in Georgia, where Grinnell police said he had fled after threatening to kill his wife and her parents, according to court documents. About the same time he fled the state in mid-November, an investigation into the sexual abuse case began, police said.
Bailey is accused of sexually abusing two boys for years.
Bailey is being held on $1 million bond at the Poweshiek County Jail and is due back in court Dec. 12 for a preliminary hearing on the child abuse charges. He faces a virtual life sentence in prison if he’s convicted. The sex abuse counts alone carry maximum sentences of up to 25 years each.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.