DEWITT (IA)
WQAD 8 [Moline, IL]
March 1, 2024
By Nora Reichardt
Cody LaKose was sentenced to 45 days in jail, and he will also be required to register as a sex offender.
A former DeWitt high school teacher has been sentenced to jail after pleading guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor.
According to court records, former Central DeWitt High School teacher Cody LaKose pled guilty to three counts of sexual exploitation by a school employee on Wednesday, Feb. 21. Two additional counts of the same charges were dropped.
LaKose was sentenced to 45 days in jail on all three counts, with the sentences running concurrently.
LaKose was employed as a science teacher at Central Dewitt in 2017 when court records say he allegedly groomed an underage female student into a sexual relationship. LaKose resigned from Central DeWitt in 2018.
An investigation was launched into the incident on March 2, 2022, after the victim came to the DeWitt Police Department with her story. The exploitation included kissing, genital touching and sexual intercourse — all allegedly taking place inside LaKose’s school office.
LaKose was arrested and charged with sexual exploitation by a school employee in March of 2023.
At the time of his arrest, LaKose was a teacher at Iowa City Regina Catholic High School. The victim told law enforcement that she came forward because she feared that LaKose could target students at his current teaching position.
According to court documents, he will surrender at the Clinton County Jail to begin serving his sentence on Friday, March 22. LaKose is also required to register as a sex offender.