Orange City, Iowa — More information is now available in the case against a former Sioux Center teacher who is accused of sexually abusing several students.
Authorities say charges were filed against 35-year old Curtis Van Dam of Sioux Center after a complaint was lodged with police on October 18th, alleging inappropriate conduct between Van Dam, a teacher at Sioux Center Christian School, and a student attending the school. Further investigation led to over 140 counts of sex-related crimes being filed against Van Dam.
Sioux Center Police say they discovered that the earliest alleged crime occurred in August of 2013, with subsequent allegations allegedly happening through October of this year. The alleged violations took place at various locations, including the Sioux Center Christian School, and involved numerous children, according to the Sioux Center Police Department.
According to formal charging documents filed by Sioux County Attorney Thomas Kuntsle, Van Dam faces 146 counts, including:
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- 73 counts of Second Degree Sexual Abuse, a class B felony
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- 12 counts of Third Degre Sexual Abuse, a class C felony
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- 3 counts of Lascivious Acts with a Child, a class C felony
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- 1 count of Lascivious Acts with a Child – Solicitation, a class D felony
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- 15 counts of Sexual Exploitation by a School Employee, a class D felony
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- over 40 related misdemeanor counts
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Of the 73 counts of Second Degree Sexual Abuse, the documents say the majority were alleged to have been with three victims, with 20, 25, and 24 counts.
The documents did not identify the victims or their gender, except by 13 sets of initials. They say some or all of the children were under 12 or 13 years of age. The 85 counts of sexual abuse involved six children, according to the documents.
Van Dam bonded out of jail on Tuesday (December 5) after using a bail bondsman to post a $150,000 bond. He faces a pretrial conference on Monday, December 11th and the trial at this point is scheduled for March 6th, 2018.
