State v. Witham

Pursuant to a plea agreement, the defendant, James Witham, pled guilty to three counts of committing lascivious acts with a child in violation of Iowa Code section 709.8(1) (1997). The pleas involved offenses with three young girls. A presentence investigation report (PSI) was prepared. Among other things, the PSI investigator had obtained the defendant’s prior psychiatric eval uations. One of the evaluations revealed the defendant had sought counseling in 1992 to address the residual guilt and shame he felt in connection with his sexual abuse of his stepdaughter seventeen years earlier.

At…