A Hospers man was sentenced in O’Brien County district on Monday, for Indecent Contact with a child. The criminal investigation began in January of 2022, after the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office was notified by Minnesota authorities that 68 year old James “Jim” Stephan Hanno was identified as a suspect in a sexual abuse investigation. Further investigation revealed Hanno was the suspect in a sexual abuse investigation in the Minnesota county of Cottonwood, and Iowa counties O’Brien and Sioux involving two minor victims.
On March 20, 2022, the O’Brien District Court accepted Hanno’s no-contest plea to Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree stemming from O’Brien County, and a guilty plea to Indecent Contact with a Child stemming from Sioux County.
The Court sentenced Hanno to an indeterminate 10 year prison sentence for Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree, and an indeterminate 2 year prison sentence for Indecent Contact with a Child. The Court further ordered Hanno to register as a sex offender for life, and to a special lifetime parole sentence after release.
