Victim’s Father Charged with Assaulting Lisbon Wrestler

By Trish Mehaffey, Reporter

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By Aaron Hepker

Story Created: Jul 9, 2012 at 5:46 PM CDT

Story Updated: Jul 9, 2012 at 5:46 PM CDT

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - A Lisbon high school student testifying in a case involving the wrestling team was assaulted during one of the trials late Monday in Linn County Courthouse.

Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner says the father of one of the victims was in and out of the courtroom all day Monday and he punched one of the defendants after they finished testifying. The sheriff says deputies are still piecing the details together and he did not know where the assault took place. The man was arrested in connection with assault causing bodily injury.

In March, the Linn County Attorney’s office charged four teenagers for their roles in the 2011 locker room incident. Prosecutors said 18-year-olds Nathan Jubeck and Dakota VanDyke urinated on a 15-year-old boy in a shower room. They were charged with misdemeanor assault.

VanDyke entered an Alford plea to simple assault, a misdemeanor, and received a deferred judgment. Under such a plea, a defendant doesn’t admit guilt but agrees enough evidence likely exists for a conviction.

Meanwhile, a simple assault charge against Jubeck was dismissed at the request of the 15-year-old and his family after the boy indicated in a pretrial meeting that Jubeck wasn’t part of the incident.

Two 17-year-old wrestlers were accused of putting their genitalia in the victim’s face. Those wrestlers were charged with assault and third degree harassment.