IOWA
Seattle PI
By RYAN J. FOLEY, Associated Press
Published 9:38 am, Wednesday, November 20, 2013
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A former Iowa pastor accused of sexually preying on female members of his congregation was improperly convicted of sexual exploitation and must receive a new trial, an appeals court ruled Wednesday.
The Iowa Court of Appeals overturned a verdict that found Patrick Edouard, former pastor at Covenant Reform Church in Pella, guilty of four counts of sexual exploitation by a counselor and one count of having a pattern or scheme to sexually exploit. An improper jury instruction undermined Edouard’s defense in which he admitted to sexual conduct with the women but denied acting as their counselor, the court ruled.
Edouard, 44, has been free on bond while appealing his conviction, which was returned by a Dallas County jury last year. Under the sentence vacated Wednesday, he would have faced up to five years in prison and, upon release, a 10-year mandatory term of supervision as a sex offender.
The Iowa Attorney General’s Office, which has assisted Marion County in prosecuting the case, will ask the Iowa Supreme Court to review Wednesday’s decision to reinstate the conviction and sentence, spokesman Geoff Greenwood said. But justices do not have to review the 3-0 ruling.
If the ruling stands, prosecutors would need to decide whether to retry him. At any retrial, the appeals court said that an expert witness that would help Edouard’s defense must be allowed to testify after being unfairly excluded from the first.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.