UPDATE: Orange City, Iowa — A judge has granted two motions by the prosecution in the case against a former Sioux Center teacher accused of multiple sex acts with students, after resistance to the motions was withdrawn.
Authorities say charges were filed against 36-year old Curtis Van Dam of Sioux Center after a complaint was lodged with police on October 18th, 2017, alleging inappropriate conduct between Van Dam, a former teacher at Sioux Center Christian School, and a student attending the school. Further investigation led to 146 counts of sex-related crimes being filed against Van Dam, the earliest of which goes back to August 2013. Sioux Center Police say there were at least thirteen victims.
The first motion asked the court to exclude Van Dam’s physical presence from discovery depositions of his alleged victims and to allow the use of iPads to create a one-way audio and visual communication link, which would allow Van Dam to hear and see the minor victims’ live testimony, and to communicate with his attorney via text messaging during the depositions. It also asked for a victim advocate to be present with the victims during the depositions. Sioux County Attorney Thomas Kunstle emphasizes that this arrangement only affects the depositions and not the trial.
The other motion asked the court to allow to be admitted into evidence video-recorded interviews with the alleged child victims by a certified counselor.
In his order, Judge Steven Andreason said that resistance to the motions had been withdrawn and that both motions were approved. However, his order stated that no decision had been made as to whether to allow the one-way video during trial, and that the videoed interviews were accepted into evidence “with the understanding that the [alleged] child victims will be called to testify and will otherwise be available for cross-examination by Van Dam at the time of trial.”
No reason was listed for Van Dam’s withdrawal of his resistance to the motions. Van Dam’s attorney was not available Tuesday afternoon for comment.
In a separate federal case this June, Van Dam was sentenced to fifteen years in federal prison after he accepted a plea deal and pleaded guilty to one count of Sexual Exploitation of a Child.
************************************
Original story posted Monday, Aug 20, 2018, at 3:50 p.m.:
Orange City, Iowa — A hearing was held on Monday at the Sioux County Courthouse in the case of a former Sioux Center Christian School Teacher accused of multiple sex acts with students.
Authorities say charges were filed against 36-year old Curtis Van Dam of Sioux Center after a complaint was lodged with police on October 18th, 2017, alleging inappropriate conduct between Van Dam, a former teacher at Sioux Center Christian School, and a student attending the school. Further investigation led to 146 counts of sex-related crimes being filed against Van Dam, the earliest of which goes back to August 2013.
Last month, Sioux County Attorney Thomas Kunstle filed a motion with the court asking that the court exclude Van Dam’s physical presence from the discovery depositions. He asked that the court use iPads to create a one-way audio and visual communication link, which would allow Van Dam to hear and see the minor victims’ live testimony. The iPads would also be equipped with electronic messaging software, which would allow text messages between Van Dam and his attorney during the depositions. Kunstle said that this request is only for the depositions and not for any testimony at trial. He also requested the presence of a victim advocate in the room with the alleged victims.
At Monday’s hearing defense attorney Ned Bjornstad filed two motions. One was resistance to the idea that video-recorded interviews with the alleged victims by a mental health counselor be admitted. Bjornstad says that the code section referenced by the prosecution talks about the purpose of medical diagnosis or treatment and does not apply to the interviews by the counselor. He goes on to say that the Iowa Supreme Court has said that this exception requires trustworthiness and necessity, and the case cannot establish the trustworthiness and necessity “to comply with the burden of this legal test.”
The other motion was in resistance to the motion for deposition testimony to be taken by one-way-video and the presence of an advocate. He says that Van Dam has requested to take depositions of the alleged victims as well, and these have yet to be scheduled. He says in order for the request to use one-way video to be granted, the State has to establish some type of therapeutic, medical, or psychiatric basis, as required by Iowa Code. Otherwise, the court would be denying Van Dam his constitutional right of confrontation.
At last report, the Court had yet to rule on the motions.
