Mason City man found guilty of assault, sexual abuse, not guilty of kidnapping charge
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(ABC 6 News) — UPDATE: A Mason City man accused of kidnapping and abusing his former girlfriend last summer was found guilty of assault and sexual abuse Friday, but not kidnapping charges.
RELATED: Mason City man’s kidnapping trial rescheduled for July – ABC 6 News – kaaltv.com
According to Cerro Gordo court records, Moises Erreguin-Labra’s jury trial ended Aug. 4.
Jurors heard closing arguments at noon, and deliberated for about 3 hours before returning to declare they had found Erreguin-Labra guilty of 3rd-degree sexual abuse — a felony– and assault causing bodily injury — a serious misdemeanor.
The jury found Erreguin-Labra not guilty of 1st-degree kidnapping, or any lesser kidnapping offense.
Moises Erreguin-Labra is facing charges of kidnapping and sexual abuse. He's accused of brutalizing his former girlfriend and holding her captive at a home in Mason City last year.
The State of Iowa declared that the defendant would not be eligible for bail, and will instead be held in the Cerro Gordo jail until he is sentenced.
Erreguin-Labra’s sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 18, 2023.
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(ABC 6 News) – Moises Erreguin-Labra is facing charges of kidnapping and sexual abuse. He’s accused of brutalizing his former girlfriend and holding her captive at a home in Mason City last year.
Erreguin-Labara sat in court Wednesday where his former girlfriend took the stand and testified. The prosecution and defense going back and forth discussing the relationship the two had. The woman described her time with Erreguin-Labara as violent and says he controlled her.
Prior to the alleged kidnapping incident – attorneys focused on a night in St. Paul where the victim was allegedly beaten by Erreguin-Labra.
His former girlfriend gave her testimony Wednesday as well as a few witnesses like the accused victims former co-worker, her mother and criminalist that does DNA samplings.
When the criminalist took the stand, they discussed evidence gathered at the scene. Samples of blood found on the wall inside the home were taken in for testing. They found DNA of both Erreguin-Labra and his ex-girlfriend.
“And the probability of finding this profile in a number of populated individuals chosen at random which would be less than 1 out of 27 nonillions,” said criminalist Tara Scott.
The number 27 nonillion is 27 with 30 zeros on the end. So, an incredibly small chance that someone would have the same DNA as that found in the home where the alleged incident took place.
They also went over security camera footage form the ex-girlfriends place of work with her former coworker from the day the alleged incident happened.
Court will reconvene again Thursday.