Mason City man sentenced to ten years on child sexual abuse charge

MASON CITY — A Mason City man has been sentenced to ten years in prison after entering an Alford plea to a child sexual abuse charge.

35-year-old Charles Mimms was arrested in June and charged with second-degree sexual abuse, a Class B felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison. A criminal complaint states that Mimms performed a sex act with a child that was under the age of 12 in Mason City on June 10th.

Mimms originally pleaded not guilty to the second-degree sexual abuse charge, but as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, entered an Alford plea in August to one count of lascivious acts with a child, a Class C felony. With an Alford plea, a person does not admit guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence for a likely conviction.

District Judge Rustin Davenport sentenced Mimms to ten years in prison during a sentencing hearing on Tuesday in Cerro Gordo County District Court.