Orange City, Iowa — A former Sioux County Deputy and his wife have been acquitted in a case involving neglect and underage sexual activity.
According to the Sioux County Sheriff and the Sioux County Attorney’s offices, Caleb and Jill Haverdink of Maurice were arrested about a year ago on seven counts of Neglect of a Dependent Person, which are Class C Felonies. The sheriff and attorney’s offices say the charges are the result of a criminal investigation conducted by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
According to the complaint and affidavits, the Haverdinks had prior knowledge of a child in their care committing numerous acts of sexual abuse and sexualized acts against other children and “took no meaningful action or actions to mitigate the sexual abuse or protect the children under their care.” The complaint says, “Their inaction put children under their care at high risk of victimization for sexual abuse.”
At the time of the arrest, the Haverdinks were serving as foster parents. During the trial, defense attorneys focused on the timeline and what the Haverdinks knew when. They inferred that as soon as the couple knew what was going on, they acted to intervene.
As a culmination of the case, a jury found Caleb and Jill Haverdink not guilty of all charges.
