Polk County charges have been added to those filed in Dallas and Franklin counties against a Hampton man who allegedly sexually molest his teenage step-grandsons over the course of several years, according to a statement released Tuesday by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI).
Daniel Frederick Wiechmann Jr., 73, of 207 Second Ave. N.E., Hampton, Iowa, was charged with one count of third-degree sexual abuse, two counts of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse, one count of indecent contact with a child and one count of indecent exposure.
The investigation began in October 2021 after “a report was filed with the Ankeny Police Department regarding historical sexual abuse that had been occurring between Wiechmann and several juvenile step-grandchildren over the course of several years,” according to the DCI statement.
As a result, Wiechmann was arrested Friday in Hampton by an Iowa State Patrol Trooper on several warrants stemming from the one-year joint investigation conducted by the Ankeny Police Department, the DCI and the Polk County Attorney’s office.
Because the alleged abuse took place in multiple Iowa counties and Wiechmann served as an attorney in the Franklin County area, the DCI was asked to assist. The Franklin County Attorney’s office asked the Polk County Attorney’s office to serve as a special prosecutor for the investigation due to a conflict of interest.
In the Polk County incident, Wiechmann allegedly sexually abused, indecently contacted and indecently exposed his juvenile step-grandsons in from between 2014 and 2018 in “behavior known as grooming,” according to court records.
In the Dallas County incident, Wiechmann allegedly assaulted his 14-year-old step-grandson on March 12, 2016, in a West Des Moines motel in the 200 block of 64th Street, according to court records.
In the Franklin County incident, Wiechmann allegedly assaulted his 16-year-old step-grandson between Aug. 1, 2017, and Dec. 31, 2017, in a popup camper outside his Hampton law office, according to court records.
Wiechmann is held in the Dallas County Jail on a $5,000 cash or surety bond. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Nov. 4 in Dallas County District Court. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Nov. 19 in Franklin County District Court.
*A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
