Teen Who Avoided Jail Time After Plea Deal Over Rape Charge Could Be Sentenced After Probation Violations

Zachary Stieber
By Zachary Stieber
April 11, 2019US News
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Teen Who Avoided Jail Time After Plea Deal Over Rape Charge Could Be Sentenced After Probation Violations
Kraigen Grooms in an undated file mugshot. (Wapello County Jail)

An Iowa teenager who avoided further jail time in a plea deal in 2016 after being accused of raping a 1-year-old on camera could be sentenced to prison for repeated violations of his probation.

Kraigen Grooms was 19 when he received a 10-year suspended sentence for committing lascivious acts with a child in exchange for pleading guilty.

Wapello County Attorney Gary Oldenburger said in a statement slamming “grossly inaccurate” information about the case that Grooms “had been tricked into believing that he was interacting online with a female his own age and performed the abuse at the pornographer’s request, believing the request was from the teenage female.”

“The child was not injured, no pain was inflicted, and the child was too young to even be aware of what was happening,” Oldenburger added.

Wapello Co Attorney Grooms … by on Scribd


The resolution that came about after Grooms served 860 days in jail. Oldenburger said major considerations included the parents of the victim not wishing Grooms to go to prison, that Grooms was 16 at the time of the offense, and that key witnesses declined to testify.

An expert psychologist evaluated Grooms and said he was not a high risk for committing future offenses, the district attorney said. Grooms was also considered a candidate for rehabilitation.

The suspended sentence included five years of probation.

Grooms now faces more time in jail after repeated violations of his probation.

NTD Photo
Kraigen Grooms in a picture on the Iowa Sex Offender Registry website dated August 2018. (Iowa Sex Offender Registry)

Court records obtained by KTVO show he has failed to maintain employment, a condition of his probation and in addition to pleading guilty he failed to register as a sex offender, which he was required to do.

According to the Ottumwa Courier, Grooms was sentenced to a suspended 30-day jail term and a year of probation after he pleaded guilty to failing to register as a sex offender when he moved to Jefferson County. As a Tier III offender, Grooms is required to verify his information every three months.

His current address is listed on the Iowa Sex Offender Registry as in Ottumwa in Wapello County and it says he registered there on March 11.

According to the Courier, Grooms has not held a full-time job since the summer of 2018. The failure to obey his probation requirements already led to an order that he spend weekends in the Ottumwa Residential Correctional Facility from Dec. 6, 2018, through Jan. 6, 2019.

Grooms was scheduled to appear in court on April 8 for a hearing to determine if his probation should be revoked but that hearing has been delayed until April 22 due to a scheduling conflict.

The move to late April for the possible probation revocation was the third continuance issued in the case. The case was originally scheduled for Jan. 28.

Judge Lucy Gamon granted the first continuance to allow time to obtain a public defender, reported the Courier. Gamon asked Grooms if he had been advised of his right to counsel and he replied that he had filled out an application for counsel at the jail but it couldn’t be found on file.

During the brief hearing, state prosecutors said they’re recommending prison time for Grooms due to the probation violations. Grooms also confirmed that he was not working at the time of the hearing.

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