Some details emerge on former mayor’s plea deal

WASHINGTON — A new court record has shed some light on details of former Washington Mayor Jaron Rosien’s plea agreement, in a case where he was accused of third degree sexual abuse.

After nearly 28 months of court delays, Rosien on Tuesday morning submitted a written guilty plea to “assault with intent to commit sexual abuse,” a less serious offense than he was initially charged with. In court records, he said he admitted to “offensive physical contact” with an anonymous accuser identified by the initials A.B. while intoxicated in 2023.

The aggravated misdemeanor comes with a fine between $855 and $8,540, and a potential prison sentence of up to two years, according to court documents. In the written plea, Rosien requested a contested sentencing hearing to hash out the details, and requested deferred judgment in the case.

A handful of questions remain. It’s unclear how Rosien’s requested sentencing hearing might play out, and court records don’t yet indicate a date for such a hearing. It’s also unclear how the plea deal will affect civil accusations against Rosien as the owner of JP’s 207 — the alleged location of the assault, according to other court records — as the docket in that civil case hasn’t seen an update since late April, before the plea deal was announced.

An earlier judge’s order directed state prosecutors to file a memorandum of plea agreement at least 72 hours before Friday at 8 a.m., but no such document was available online as of Wednesday morning, making it hard to deduce more specific stipulations of the plea agreement.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com