1. Not less than five and not more than fifteen days after commencing a proceeding and
upon notice to the defendant, a hearing shall be held at which the plaintiff must prove the
allegation of sexual abuse by a preponderance of the evidence.
2. The court may enter any temporary order it deems necessary to protect the plaintiff
from sexual abuse prior to the hearing upon good cause shown in an ex parte proceeding.
Present danger of sexual abuse to the plaintiff constitutes good cause for purposes of this
subsection.
3. If a hearing is continued, the court may make or extend any temporary order under
subsection 2 that it deems necessary.
4. Upon application of the plaintiff or defendant, the court shall issue subpoenas requiring
attendance and testimony of witnesses and production of papers.
5. The court shall advise the defendant of a right to be represented by counsel of the
defendant’s choosing and to have a continuance to secure counsel.
\n
Tue Dec 09 22:20:39 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 236A (28, 0)
3 SEXUAL ABUSE — PROTECTIVE ORDERS — SERVICES, §236A.8\n\n 6. Hearings shall be recorded.
2017 Acts, ch 121, §9
Referred to in §232.8, 236A.8, 915.50
\n
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
7
cases (
4 in the last 5 years), 2019–2025 · leading case:
R.M. v. D.S. (Iowa Ct. App. 2021).
R.M. v. D.S. (Iowa Ct. App. 2021).
· cites it 6× “1 Iowa Code § 236A.6(1). The 1The court also may enter a temporary order before the hearing “upon good cause shown in an ex parte proceeding.”
N.H., on behalf of R.W. & A.W., Minor Child. (Iowa Ct. App. 2021).
· cites it 4× “” Iowa Code § 236A.6(1); see A.N., 2020 WL 2061881 , at *3-4 (concluding the testimony offered substantial support for the sexual abuse finding in a dispute about consent,); T.”
A.N. v. J.G. (Iowa Ct. App. 2020).
· cites it 2× “See Iowa Code § 236A.6(1). “A preponderance of the evidence is the evidence ‘that is more convincing than opposing evidence’ or ‘more likely true than not true.”
State of Iowa v. Mercedes JoJean Damme (Iowa 2020).
· cites it 2× “, Iowa Code § 236A.6(2) (allowing a temporary protective order on a showing of good cause, defined as a “[p]resent danger of sexual abuse to the plaintiff”); id.”
T.M. v. C.M. (Iowa Ct. App. 2023).
· cites it 2× “”4 Iowa Code § 236A.6(1). Under this chapter, the legislature defined “sexual abuse” as the “commission of a crime defined in chapter 709 or section 726.”
A.W., on behalf of N.W. v. M.T. (Iowa Ct. App. 2025).
· cites it 2× “” Iowa Code § 236A.6(1).6 The preponderance standard is “the lowest degree of proof upon which issues of fact are determined.”
— Iowa Code § 236A.6(1) — 5 cases
N.H., on behalf of R.W. & A.W., Minor Child. (Iowa Ct. App. 2021).
“” Iowa Code § 236A.6(1); see A.N., 2020 WL 2061881 , at *3-4 (concluding the testimony offered substantial support for the sexual abuse finding in a dispute about consent,); T.”
R.M. v. D.S. (Iowa Ct. App. 2021).
“1 Iowa Code § 236A.6(1). The 1The court also may enter a temporary order before the hearing “upon good cause shown in an ex parte proceeding.”
A.N. v. J.G. (Iowa Ct. App. 2020).
“See Iowa Code § 236A.6(1). “A preponderance of the evidence is the evidence ‘that is more convincing than opposing evidence’ or ‘more likely true than not true.”
T.M. v. C.M. (Iowa Ct. App. 2023).
“”4 Iowa Code § 236A.6(1). Under this chapter, the legislature defined “sexual abuse” as the “commission of a crime defined in chapter 709 or section 726.”
A.W., on behalf of N.W. v. M.T. (Iowa Ct. App. 2025).
“” Iowa Code § 236A.6(1).6 The preponderance standard is “the lowest degree of proof upon which issues of fact are determined.”
— Iowa Code § 236A.6(2) — 2 cases
State of Iowa v. Mercedes JoJean Damme (Iowa 2020).
“, Iowa Code § 236A.6(2) (allowing a temporary protective order on a showing of good cause, defined as a “[p]resent danger of sexual abuse to the plaintiff”); id.”
R.M. v. D.S. (Iowa Ct. App. 2021).
“1 Iowa Code § 236A.6(1). The 1The court also may enter a temporary order before the hearing “upon good cause shown in an ex parte proceeding.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
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treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.