Silva convicted of 3rd-degree sexual abuse Wednesday

Manuel Allen Silva Jr., 44, 1951 Beechwood Ave., was found guilty of two counts of third-degree sexual abuse, a class C felony, Wednesday afternoon at Union County Courthouse.

"You don't have to agree on how the sex abuse was proven," said Assistant Attorney General Laura Roan during the second half of the prosecution's closing statement. "The facts establish that beyond a reasonable doubt — the credible facts do."

"The state's case, ladies and gentlemen, is that a sex act occurred," said Tim Kenyon, Union County attorney and attorney for the prosecution. "She was unable to move. She was unable to resist. She was unable to do anything."

During closing statements Tuesday morning, nearly 20 people watched on as Kenyon and Roan argued for the prosecution of Silva, and U.J. Booth, Silva's lawyer, argued in defense.

After about eight hours of deliberation over the course of two days, a jury of two females and 10 males found Silva guilty of his original charges. Silva pleaded not guilty to the original two sexual abuse counts, with which he was charged in June 2015 on a Union County warrant.

When the verdict was read by Judge Dustria A. Relph, no major commotion occurred from the audience of about 13 people, including the victim and her family.

Silva hugged his wife, Chelsi, and was then immediately taken into the custody of Union County Sheriff's Office. Chelsi then repeatedly said the words "Why did you do this to me?" to the victim. The victim and her family were given a police escort out of the courthouse.

Silva will be held on no bond until 9:30 a.m. Dec. 9, when a sentencing hearing will occur at the courthouse. The hearing will occur after a standard pre-sentencing investigation and the opportunity for Silva to file an appeal.

The conviction of third-degree sexual abuse comes with a mandatory prison sentence of up to 10 years because it was a forcible felony. Because there were two counts, there is the possibility the 10-year sentence for each count is consecutive. There is also a fine of between $1,000 and $10,000 per count. Also, probation will not be an option.

Silva also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit second-degree theft in 2006. This came after he and another person participated in a theft scheme while Silva was Union County Economic Development Association director from August 2002 to August 2004.

Events

According to information released during the closing statements and a Union County Sheriff report, sometime in late April 2015, text messages were exchanged between Silva and a female victim, who is a family member, about her visiting for smoothies with him and his family. Similar text messages were exchanged about once a month beginning in January 2015.

On the evening of May 28, 2015, the female victim was at the home of Silva. Silva gave the victim a smoothie in a mug, which he observed her consume. After consuming the beverage, the victim became "groggy" and fell asleep on Silva's couch. She described feeling tired, unsteady and in a dream-like state.

Silva lied beside the victim on the couch, placed his hands down the victim's pants and inappropriately touched her. Silva additionally had the victim inappropriately touch him, at which time she pulled away. These actions by Silva to the victim were done without her consent and against her will.

According to Kenyon, the victim told one person part of what happened, and, according to Booth, the victim only told the person Silva touched her leg and made her feel uncomfortable. The victim then kept the events a secret until May 30, 2015, when they were reported to law enforcement.

"The state would like you to believe that (victim's name) would never falsely accuse someone of sexual assault," Booth said. "(Victim's name) was like many young adults who grew up in a dysfunctional home. ... We cannot see into a person's mind. We can only see what they choose to reveal."

Blood and urine samples were taken from the female victim as part of a medical examination. Urinalysis of the sample done by Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) resulted in the discovery of waste products from temazepam, oxazepam and lorazepam, all benzodiazepines.

The prosecution and defense both explained the various side effects, drug interaction and half-lives of the drugs in the samples as described during the trial by expert witnesses.

The victim was not on any prescription medication at the time, nor did she claim she otherwise took any such medication with her knowledge or consent. It was discovered Silva's wife had been prescribed temazepam and that Silva had access to his wife's medication.

"Sometimes trash talking victims can be useful. They're drug users. They're not truth tellers. This is not one of those cases," Roan said. "She (the victim) wasn't safe there. She wasn't safe at all. ... This case is about a family with secrets."