State of Iowa v. John Thomas Finders

Summary

The Supreme Court of Iowa held that Iowa Code section 692A.2A(4)(c)'s grandfather provision permits a qualifying sex offender to remain at the specific residence established before July 1, 2002. It does not permit the offender to move to a different residence within the two-thousand-foot restricted zone. The court affirmed the denial of John Finders's motion to dismiss his conviction for violating the residency restriction.

Holdings

1. Iowa Code section 692A.2A(4)(c) exempts a sex offender only while the offender maintains the specific residence established before July 1, 2002; it does not permit the offender to establish a new residence within the restricted zone after that date.
2. The alleged facts established a violation of Iowa Code section 692A.2A because Finders moved to a new residence after July 1, 2002 and therefore could not invoke the grandfather provision.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Iowa Code section 692A.2A(4)(c), the grandfather provision to Iowa's two-thousand-foot sex-offender residency restriction, exempts the offender personally or only the specific residence established before July 1, 2002.
2. Whether the alleged facts constituted a crime as a matter of law and therefore required dismissal of the trial information.

Disposition

affirmed