Iowa Supreme Court agrees to hear Charles City man’s appeal of lascivious acts case

DES MOINES — The Iowa Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal of a Charles City man who entered an Alford plea to a charge of lascivious acts with a minor.

41-year-old Shane Davis was charged in late October 2019 with lascivious acts and indecent contact with a child after being accused of having sexual contact with two minor children in July or August of that year.

Davis filed an Alford plea to the charges in December 2020.  With an Alford plea, a person does not admit guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence for a likely conviction. Davis was sentenced in January 2020 to five years on the lascivious acts charge and two years on the indecent contact charge, with the sentences to run consecutively.

Davis lost an appeal of his conviction in the Iowa Court of Appeals this past August, with the court stating that he had no right of appeal because he failed to establish good cause in his case. The Iowa Supreme Court today granted review to eight cases today, including Davis’ appeal.