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Bettendorf man gets 30 years for sexually abusing 7-year-old

Investigators say Morales was 17 and the child was 7 when the abuse began.
Joshua Morales photo from the Scott County Jail

BETTENDORF, Iowa (AP) — A Bettendorf man has been sentenced to up to 30 years in prison for sexually abusing a child younger than 12 over a three-year period.

Joshua Daniel Morales, 21, pleaded guilty in June to three counts of lascivious acts with a child, the Quad-City Times reports.

Morales was sentenced Thursday to up to 10 years in prison on each count. The sentences will run back-to-back.

In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors dismissed one count of second-degree sexual abuse, a felony punishable by up to 25 years.

Prosecutors say the Scott County Sheriff’s Department received a report Jan. 7 of a sexual assault that happened between 2012 and 2015.

Investigators say Morales was 17 and the child was 7 when the abuse began.

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