January 3, 2012 |

Report finds 42 sex offenders living in Iowa’s care facilities

At least 42 sex offenders are living within 21 Iowa care facilities for the elderly and disabled, according to a review of state records by the Des Moines Register.

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad this past November announced the formation of a working group of various state department heads to review laws that currently allow sex offenders to live in nursing homes. Branstad’s actions came after a high-profile scandal in which an 83-year-old sex offender sexually assaulted a fellow nursing home resident.

According to the Register report, that work group has met three times for a total of 80 minutes and hasn’t determined how many sex offenders are in the state’s nursing homes. Branstad’s office has disputed the newspaper’s findings and said the panel has met “numerous times.”

Of the 42 sex offenders, more than half (23) live in five facilities, according to the report.

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