A man formerly from Hawarden was convicted of third-degree sexual abuse Thursday. 29-year-old Misael Topete was convicted by a jury July 25th in Sioux County District Court. The case arose July 9, 2017, when Topete entered the basement of his mother’s home in Hawarden where he encountered the 19-year-old female victim, who was going inside the home to sleep. Topete forced the victim down on the steps, and sexually assaulted her. The victim reported she resisted and told him to stop, but Topete did not. Topete confessed to police that the victim told him to stop but didn’t.
The day before the original trial, March 5, 2018, Topete fled to Mexico, but on Feb. 18, 2024, Topete turned himself in. Because Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree is a forcible felony, Topete was taken into custody and will remain in the Sioux County Jail pending the scheduling of his sentencing hearing.
