Perry

ELDORA — A former therapist at the Iowa State Training School for Boys in Eldora was sentenced on April 15 after entering a guilty plea Feb. 10 to one count of solicitation of a felony, (having sex with a student) a class D felony.

Sarah Perry, 40, was sentenced to five years in prison with the sentence suspended and she was placed on five years’ probation and fined $1,025 plus a 15 percent surcharge and court costs. An additional special sentence equating to parole was imposed. Perry will be committed to the director of the Iowa Department of Correctional Services for 10 years following completion of probation. A no contact order for protection of the victim was extended for five years, and Perry must register with the Iowa Sex Offender Registry.

The final charge was the result of a plea agreement reached with prosecutors and the court allowing Perry to withdraw an earlier guilty plea.

On July 15, 2024, she pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist. Hardin County Attorney Darrell Meyer says she did so not knowing that under the plea, certain sentencing options such as probation were not available which meant a mandatory prison sentence.

In November, her lawyer filed a motion to vacate the plea. This resulted in four continuances delaying sentencing dates. An agreement was reached in January with prosecutors allowing her to change her plea and a written guilty plea was filed Feb. 10.

Perry was originally charged with sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist, sexual exploitation by a school employee, both class D felonies, and sexual misconduct with an offender in 2023 after allegedly “engaging in sexual acts” and supplying contraband to several of the male students at the school.