GARNER — Jurors are set to resume deliberating in the trial of a former Iowa lawmaker accused of sexually abusing his wife, who was suffering from dementia.
Closing arguments were delivered and jurors deliberated Monday before adjourning. They resumed at 9 a.m. Tuesday. The case centers on the question of when a person is no longer capable of giving consent for sexual relations. Prosecutors say 78-year-old Henry Rayhons had sex with his wife at a nursing home May 23 after being told she was no longer mentally capable of consenting.
He’s testified that he and his wife had no sexual contact that day.
Rayhons, who served nine terms in the Iowa House, faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of third-degree sexual abuse.
His wife, Donna Lou Rayhons, died in August.