Charles City man faces life in prison on sexual abuse charges

CHARLES CITY — A Charles City man who faces a life prison term for multiple sexual abuse counts has pleaded not guilty to a second-degree sexual abuse charge.

A criminal complaint says 32-year-old James Teel went into a business in the 600 block of Main Street in Charles City on July 1st with an eight-year-old female. Authorities say the victim accused Teel of taking her into the bathroom and inappropriately touching her. Teel was charged with second degree sexual abuse in this case, a Class B felony, and pleaded not guilty to the charge with his trial scheduled to start on September 28th.

Teel is also accused of committing sexual abuse on an eight-year-old child on or about June 19th of this year, and was previously convicted of third-degree sexual abuse in Johnson County in August 2014. Therefore if Teel were found guilty in the two recent cases, the charge would be upgraded to a Class A felony with a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the opportunity for parole.