A man who sexually assaulted a child by using threats and placing them in fear of physical assault was sentenced today to more than 37 years in federal prison.
Stephen Albert, age 50, from Tama, Iowa, received the prison term after a March 9, 2022 jury verdict finding him guilty of one count of sexual abuse by threat and force and one count of sexual abuse of a minor.
The evidence at trial showed that, beginning in the summer of 2012 and continuing through October 2016, Albert regularly sexually assaulted a child on the Meskwaki Settlement. The sexual assaults took place in various homes on the Settlement as well as at Albert’s place of employment.
Albert was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Albert was sentenced to 452 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a ten-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
During the sentencing, Judge Williams noted that Albert was “manipulative, controlling and domineering over his wife and children” and that through his actions Albert “reaped irreparable harm” to the victim.
Albert is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lisa C. Williams and Emily K. Nydle and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Meskwaki Nation Police Department, the Tama City Police Department, and the Cedar Rapids Police Department.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 21-CR-62.
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