Former Iowa teacher, 24, pleads guilty to sexually abusing 3 teen boys

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A former Iowa teacher pleaded guilty to several sex abuse charges this week after admitting to fondling and performing sex acts on young teenage boys.

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According to court documents, 24-year-old Cassidy Kraus pleaded guilty Monday to one count of third-degree sexual abuse, two counts of lascivious acts with a child, and three counts of dissemination and exhibition of obscene materials to minors, reports NBC affiliate KTIV in Sioux City.

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Kraus, who taught reading at the IKM-Manning Community School District, was arrested in October 2023. She was accused of fondling or touching a 13-year-old boy and caused the “touching of the person’s genitals to any part of the body of the child,” reports Law & Crime.

Investigators also accused Kraus of “performing sex acts” on a 14-year-old boy, along with “knowingly disseminating obscene material” to three minors on social media site Snapchat.

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The incidents all took place in Carroll County between 2022 and 2023, court records show.

Kraus faces up to 10 years each for the sexual abuse and lascivious acts convictions, along with one year each for the obscene material charges, for a maximum total of 33 years in prison.

She’s expected to be sentenced in March.

Kraus was married to her husband on July 1, 2023, according to an announcement the pair issued. He filed for divorce on Aug. 28 after she was under investigation for sexually abusing students.

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CBS affiliate KCCI in Des Moines reported the school board approved Kraus’ resignation in August 2023.

Kraus attended school in the same district where she starred for the track and field team.

Following high school, she attended Iowa State University where she made the dean’s list multiple times for “outstanding academic achievement” in her coursework.

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