(C) Iowa Capital Dispatch
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Imprisoned after facing 126 counts of sexual abuse, Iowan loses appeal [1]
['Clark Kauffman', 'More From Author', '- May']
Date: 2023-05
The Iowa Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court’s decision upholding a prison sentence imposed on an Iowa woman accused of 126 counts of sexual abuse.
Allison Nicole Brown, a transgender woman previously known as Brian Kenneth Brown, was accused in 2014 of sexually abusing a youth over a period of eight years, starting when the victim was 10 years old. After Brown confessed, she was charged with a total of 126 counts.
The first six counts, tied to abuse that occurred when the victim was under the age of 12, were felonies. Counts 7 through 30, tied to offenses when the victim was 12 and 13, were less serious felonies, as were counts 31 through 54 which related to offenses when the victim as 14 and 15. Counts 55 through 78 were felonies that alleged abuse that occurred against the victim’s will, while counts 79 through 126 alleged lascivious acts with a child, a serious misdemeanor.
Brown eventually agreed to plead guilty to seven felony charges, with the remaining 119 counts dismissed. The net effect of the plea bargain and the subsequent sentence was that Brown was ordered to serve 36 years in prison.
In September 2016, Brown filed an application for post-conviction relief with the district court, claiming her attorney had breached an essential duty by failing to inform her of the potential sentence she faced, failing to investigate her mental-health and substance-abuse history, and failing to request a competency evaluation and a psychosexual examination.
As part of her application, Brown claimed she had been using methamphetamine heavily in the days before she entered her guilty plea.
In ruling against Brown, the district court judge wrote, “It is difficult to imagine a scenario where Brown would have received a more favorable outcome. Brown’s voluntary confession and unambiguous confirmation of all charges against her created an insurmountable obstacle, effectively sealing her fate … In plea negotiations, Brown’s incriminating statements did nothing to incentivize the prosecutor to bargain. After pleading guilty, the sentencing judge had little reason or leeway to reduce Brown’s sentence.”
Brown appealed that ruling. In affirming the decision, the Iowa Court of Appeals ruled last week that a review of the sentencing transcript shows the judge in the case had advised Brown of the potential maximum and mandatory minimum sentences of the crimes to which she pleaded guilty.
As for Brown’s use of meth prior to the plea hearing, the Court of Appeals noted that the judge had asked Brown at the hearing whether she was under the influence of any drugs, which Brown denied. With regard to the lack of a psychosexual examination that might have served as a mitigating factor at sentencing, the Court of Appeals noted that Brown submitted no evidence to support such a conclusion.
“Brown’s argument is speculative and presupposes that the psychosexual evaluation would have been favorable,” the court stated.
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