Iowa Code

Iowa Code § 709.2 (2026)

Sexual abuse in the first degree

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section IA-LEGlegis.iowa.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

1. A person commits sexual abuse in the first degree when in the course of committing sexual abuse the person causes another serious injury.

2. Sexual abuse in the first degree is a class “A” felony. [C51, §2581; R60, §4204; C73, §3861; C97, §4756; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §12966; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, §698.1; C79, 81, §709.2] 2018 Acts, ch 1041, §127 Referred to in §321.375, 622.31B, 664A.2, 664A.3, 692A.101, 692A.102, 709.19, 903B.10 Definition of forcible felony, §702.11 \n

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 45 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1962–2025 · leading case: State v. Seering, 701 N.W.2d 655 (Iowa 2005).
State v. Seering, 701 N.W.2d 655 (Iowa 2005). · cites it 4× “3 and to a person convicted of first degree sexual abuse in violation of section 709.2. Id. §§ 692A.1(1)( a ), 692A.”
State v. Carter, 602 N.W.2d 818 (Iowa 1999). · cites it 16× “Iowa Code § 709.2 . A “serious injury” means a bodily injury which creates a substantial risk of death.”
State of Iowa v. Valentin Velez, 829 N.W.2d 572 (Iowa 2013). · cites it 4× “, Iowa Code § 709.2 (“A person commits sexual abuse in the first degree when in the course of committing sexual abuse the person causes another serious injury.”
State of Iowa v. Randy Scott Meyers, 799 N.W.2d 132 (Iowa 2011). · cites it 2× “Iowa Code § 709.2 . Second-degree sexual abuse is a class '‘B” felony and includes sexual abuse committed while using a dangerous weapon, sex acts with a person under the age of twelve, and sex acts aided and abetted by one or more other individuals and committed by force or…”
State v. Coburn, 315 N.W.2d 742 (Iowa 1982). · cites it 6× “Defendant was tried to a jury on the charge of having committed sexual abuse in the first degree upon the person of a ten-year-old girl in violation of section 709.2, Code Supp.1977. He was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in the penitentiary.”
State v. Register, 112 N.W.2d 648 (Iowa 1962). · cites it 8× “The court then read the following from section 709.2, Code of Iowa, 1958: “When the value of the property stolen exceeds twenty dollars.”
State v. Savage, 288 N.W.2d 502 (Iowa 1980). · cites it 4× “" We interpret this language to be a restatement of our prior statute, section 709.2, The Code 1977, and the cases under it, e.”
Schreiber v. State, 666 N.W.2d 127 (Iowa 2003). · cites it 2× “Sexual abuse in violation of section 709.2, 709.3, or 709.4. e. Assault with intent to commit sexual abuse in violation of section 709.”
State v. McKee, 312 N.W.2d 907 (Iowa 1981). · cites it 2× “Under section 709.2 a person commits first-degree sexual abuse “when in the course of committing sexual abuse the person causes another serious injury.”
State v. Kittelson, 164 N.W.2d 157 (Iowa 1969). · cites it 4× “Section 709.2 provides that when the value of the thing stolen exceeds $20 punishment shall be imprisonment in the penitentiary for not more than five years, or in the county jail for not exceeding one year, or by fine of not more than $1000, or both; when the value is less than…”
State v. Mitchell, 450 N.W.2d 828 (Iowa 1990). · cites it 2× “See Iowa Code § 709.2 . Second-degree sexual abuse, in addition to the accomplice alternative, may be established by proof that a weapon was used or threatened or one participant was under the age of twelve.”
State v. Anderson, 308 N.W.2d 42 (Iowa 1981). · cites it 2× “§§ 709.2, 902.1. He appeals to us, raising the following issues: I.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.