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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — In a story about a judge rejecting a plea deal for a teenager accused of sexually abusing a mentally disabled woman, The Associated Press reported erroneously that a criminal complaint stated the two had sex and the woman said "no" several times. The complaint alleges that sexual activity occurred but doesn't state the two had sex or that the woman said "no." The woman had told police she said "no" many times, but police records also show she changed her description of events.
A corrected version of the story is below:
Case dropped for teen accused in Iowa online date sex abuse
Prosecutors have dropped charges against a teenager accused of sexually abusing a mentally disabled woman in suburban Des Moines whom he met online
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Prosecutors have dropped charges against a teenager accused of sexually abusing a mentally disabled woman in suburban Des Moines whom he met online.
The Des Moines Register reports (http://dmreg.co/2m5IVop) that the case against Nicholas Fifield was dismissed Tuesday with prejudice, which means the charges can't be refiled. A judge rejected an earlier plea deal.
A criminal complaint says Fifield, then a 17-year-old high school student, met the 18-year-old woman online and took her on a date in December 2015. The complaint says they went to his house and engaged in sexual activity.
The judge dismissed a charge of felony sex abuse days after ruling that ruled prosecutors failed to prove the woman's mental condition made her unable to consent to sex.
The motion to dismiss says the woman's parents asked that the case be dropped. The motion also says the woman can't help prosecutors because of her "mental health diagnosis and attendant condition."
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