Relating to deferred or suspended sentences for cases involving sexual exploitation of a minor

Description

House File 2515 relates to sexual exploitation of a minor and deferred and suspended sentences. The Bill prohibits the court from deferring or suspending the sentence for individuals convicted of sexual exploitation of a minor under Iowa Code section 728.12.

Background

Penalties under Iowa Code section 728.12 range from a Class D felony to a Class B felony. A Class D felony is punishable by confinement for up to five years and a fine of at least $1,025 but not more than $10,245. A Class C felony is punishable by confinement for up to 10 years and a fine of at least $1,370 but not more than $13,660. A Class B felony is punishable by confinement for up to 25 years and a fine of at least $5,000 but not more than $100,000. In FY 2025, there were 228 convictions under Iowa Code section 728.12 involving 96 offenders. Of those convicted, 12 received a deferred sentence. The offense classes of the 12 deferred sentences are as follows:

• Felony C = 4
• Felony D = 5
• Aggravated Misdemeanor = 3

In the same year, there were 33 individuals admitted to prison, 44 admitted to probation, and 5 admitted to parole. The offense classes of the 44 probation admissions are as follows:

• Felony B = 3
• Felony C = 5
• Felony D = 33
• Aggravated Misdemeanor = 3

Enacted during the 2023 Legislative Session, 2023 Iowa Acts, chapter 74 (Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, Penalties Act), increased the penalties under Iowa Code section 728.12, with the lowest offense class under the current law increased to a Class C felony.

Assumptions

• The following will not change over the projection period: charge, conviction, and sentencing patterns and trends; prisoner length of stay (LOS); revocation rates; plea bargaining; and other criminal justice system policies and practices.
• A delay of six months is assumed from the effective date of the Bill to the date of first entry of affected offenders into the correctional system.
• Marginal costs for county jails cannot be estimated because county jail data is unavailable. For purposes of this analysis, the marginal cost for county jails is assumed to be $50 per day.
• Convictions: This data represents the total number of convictions in adult court. Cases that include multiple charges may also involve multiple convictions, and each of those individual convictions should appear in this data.
• Offender-based convictions: This data consists of a count of individuals (based on first name, last name, and date of birth) convicted of a specific offense in adult court. Each person is counted only once per Iowa Code section, regardless of the total number of charges received.
• Prison admits: This data consists of a count of new admissions to Iowa’s correctional facilities during the selected time period. This data is based on the most serious offense committed.
• Expanded enforcement of Iowa Code section 728.12 will result in an increased number of trials.
• Probation admits under current law will go to prison under the Bill.
• Future convictions and sentences will be based on current law offense classes.
• Figure 1 displays the FY 2025 probation cohort supervision costs of $408,000 under current law.

Figure 1 — Cost Under FY 2025 Law

Total Probation

Admissions

Probation

LOS

Days

Probation

Marginal Cost

Per Day

Total

Cost

Class B = 3 636 $8.00 $15,000 Class C = 5 1303 8.00 52,000 Class D = 33 1216 8.00 321,000 AGMS = 3 840 8.00 20,000 Total $408,000

Correctional Impact

The correctional impact of HF 2515 is unknown due to a lack of existing correctional data. Figure 2 shows sentencing estimates to State prison, parole, probation, or Community-Based Corrections (CBC) residential facilities; LOS in months under those supervisions; and supervision marginal costs per day for a Class B felony, Class C felony, and Class D felony. Refer to the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) memo addressed to the General Assembly, Cost Estimates Used for Correctional Impact Statements, dated January 12, 2026, for information related to the correctional system.

Figure 2 — Sentencing Estimates and Length of Stay (LOS) in Months

Conviction Offense Class

Percent

Ordered to

State

Prison

FY 2025 Avg

LOS in

Prison (All Releases)

Marginal

Cost Per

Day

Prison

Percent

Ordered to

Probation

FY 2025

Field Avg

LOS on

Probation

Avg Cost

Per Day

Probation

Marginal

Cost Per

Day CBC

Marginal

Cost Per

Day Jail

FY 2025

Field Avg

LOS on

Parole

Marginal

Cost Per

Day Parole

D Felony Sex 91.2% 20.8 $23.07 54.4% 30.8 $8.00 $16.35 $50.00 5.0 $8.00 C Felony Sex 92.9% 53.2 $23.07 24.6% 52.5 $8.00 $16.35 $50.00 15.7 $8.00 B Felony Sex 100.0% 159.3 $23.07 14.8% N/A $8.00 $16.35 $50.00 19.7 $8.00

Minority Impact

The minority impact of HF 2515 is unknown, but is anticipated to be minimal. Refer to the LSA memo addressed to the General Assembly, Minority Impact Statements, dated January 12, 2026, for information related to minorities in the criminal justice system.

Fiscal Impact

The total fiscal impact of HF 2515 to the Department of Corrections (DOC) is $1.0 million. This includes approximately $619,000 per year in additional spending, beyond the current $408,000 for probation costs, due to an increase in an estimated prison population of approximately 56 individuals who would, under current law, be admitted to probation or receive deferred sentences. Figure 3 shows the new total cost under the Bill.

Figure 3 — Cost Under House File 2515

Total Prison

Admissions

Prison

LOS Days

Prison Marginal

Cost Per Day Total Cost

Class B = 3 3,187 $23.07 $221,000 Class C = 9 1,190 23.07 247,000 Class D = 44 551 23.07 559,000 Total $1,027,000

Sources

• Department of Corrections
• Division of Data, Planning, and Improvement (DPI), Department of Management (DOM)
• State Public Defender