(Sioux County Courthouse in Orange City, Iowa - KIWA Staff Photo)Orange City, Iowa (Sioux County Radio) — The Iowa Board of Parole has granted work release followed by parole to Rochelle Lynn Sapp, the former Orange City daycare provider convicted in the 2013 death of three-year-old Autumn Elgersma.
Board Chair Renee Schulte confirmed the September 1st decision by email. The board imposed restrictions on Sapp’s contact with minor children and asked that she can be supervised outside the judicial district where the crime occurred.
The approval does not specify when Sapp will transition from prison to work release or begin parole.
Board Explains Decision and Conditions
Schulte said the panel considered several factors, including Sapp’s lack of prior criminal history, positive behavior in person, program participation, employment, psychological evaluation, and community support.
She says the panel also weighed Sapp’s acknowledgement of responsibility and the consistency between her account and medical records reviewed by the board.
Schulte noted that Sapp’s last interview was in 2018, and none of the members from that panel remain on the board. Schulte said earlier denials were based largely on the seriousness of the crime, which had been the primary reason for rejecting release during pervious paper reviews.
Sapp will be subject to standard parole conditions, plus additional restrictions. Schulte said Sapp will be barred from contact with minor children unless approved by her parole officer and must participate in mental-health programming as directed. The supervising officer will determine any approved contact with children and the type of mental health programming.
The board also requested that Sapp be supervised in the Fifth Judicial District, noting that her support system has relocated while the victim’s family remains in northwest Iowa.
Case Background and Sentencing
Three-year-old Autumn Elgersma was injured while in Sapp’s care on October 29th, 2013. According to police affidavits, Sapp initially claimed the child fell down stairs. Elgersma was taken to the Orange City hospital and later airlifted to Sanford Hospital in Sioux Falls, where doctors diagnosed a skull fracture and brain swelling.
During an interview the next day, Sapp admitted she had thrown the child to the floor after the girl refused to remove her coat, according to the affidavits. Elgersma died on October 31st, 2013.
Sapp pleaded guilty in October 2014 to involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment resulting in death, and entered an Alford plea to child endangerment involving multiple acts.
Her original sentencing orders merged two counts and imposed a consecutive term on the third, for a maximum of 100 years. In October 2015, Judge Edward A. Jacobsen reconsidered the sentence and ordered the two 50-year terms to run concurrently, reducing the maximum to 50 years. The judged cited Sapp’s lack of a prior record, described her as a model prisoner, and noted her work teaching in the prison school with no disciplinary issues.
