During the state of Iowa’s last fiscal year, 37 people were convicted of lascivious acts with a child, the same crime to which Hilpipre has pleaded guilty. Probation was ordered in 21 cases (57 percent). In 16 cases, offenders received probation and a prison sentence that may have been suspended by a judge.

 

Jennifer Long, a former prosecutor who co-founded AEquitas, a national organization to improve the quality of justice in sexual violence cases, said incest is as traumatic to victims as other high-level cases involving sexual violence.

 

“A prolonged crime, even if it doesn’t leave physical injury, leaves deep emotional and psychological trauma,” she said. While prosecutors always worry about the effect that testifying at trial can have on a child victim, there are ways to “provide a safe court environment,” she said.