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First prison sentence issued in Davenport mobile home park sex abuse case

One of the Davenport women accused of letting kids stay with known sex offenders was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Sherry Oats from Scott County Jail

One of the Davenport women accused of letting kids stay with known sex offenders was sentenced to nine years in prison.

A ten-year-old girl testified that Sherry Ann Oats allowed her and several other children to spend the night with known child molesters at Brown’s trailer park, now known as Patriot Mobile Home Park.

At least six children were allegedly molested, assaulted, photographed and videotaped by registered sex offenders who lived there. Three of the children were two, four and six years old according to a criminal complaint filed in the case.

Investigators said some of the women were accused of letting their own children spend the night with known sex offenders. One mom let her child go camping with one of the sex offenders and the child was then sexually abused, police said.

Police became involved when James Faler, a registered sex offender, was arrested in Kentucky on May 31, 2013. Faler allegedly had electronic and printed images of child pornography with him at the time of his arrest. The children in the images were identified as victims who lived in Davenport.

Investigators also charged registered sex offender Melvin Lucier in connection with reports, of him committing child molestation, from at least two children.

Oats, now 49, was one of the adults charged. Court records showed she pleaded guilty to five of the eight initial counts of child endangerment filed against her.  Oats was sentenced Thursday, December 11, 2014 to nine years in prison.

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Faler was charged in Kentucky and expected to also face federal charges in connection with the Davenport case according to Scott County Attorney Michael Walton.

Jail records showed Melvin Lucier has been in the Scott County Jail since the end of March 2014. Lucier was sentenced in April 2014 for violating the Iowa sex offender registry requirements, and he faced multiple sex abuse charged filed in connection with the Davenport case.

Court records showed David Conger, a registered sex offender also charged in the case, was sentenced in April 2014 for violating requirements of the Iowa sex offender registry and that he was booked into the Scott County Jail December 9, 2014 for again failing to meet registry requirements.

Court records showed Oats’ 29-year-old daughters, Jenni Jenkins and Jessica Epping, each faced multiple charges of child endangerment, and that competency evaluations were ordered by the court for both women. If they are deemed competent, their trials were set for early 2015.

Sarah Melissa McConnell and Shaneka Posey each also faced multiple counts of child endangerment. Both women were scheduled to next appear in court in early 2015.

Thomas Jenkins Sr. was also charged in September 2014 in connection with the case. Court records showed he also faced three counts of sexual abuse.

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