A Le Mars man charged in a child endangerment and animal neglect case that began last fall in rural Plymouth County has now pleaded not guilty.
53-year-old Rick Reifenrath entered a written plea of not guilty on Friday, March 20th, to more than 20 charges tied to the case. Court records show Reifenrath has also waived his right to a speedy trial.
Those charges include three counts of child endangerment without injury, one count of child endangerment with injury, one count of animal neglect with injury, and multiple counts of animal neglect without injury.
Reifenrath was originally arrested on January 16th following a traffic stop near the intersection of C16 and Juniper Avenue in Plymouth County. Deputies say he had active warrants connected to the investigation at that time. He was taken into custody and booked into the Plymouth County Jail on a $10,000 cash or surety bond.
The charges stem from an investigation that began in September of 2025. Authorities executed a search warrant at a rural Plymouth County property on September 18th after reports of unsafe living conditions involving three children and numerous dogs.
During that search, the three children were removed from the home and placed in the care of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.
A second search warrant was carried out on September 23rd, when authorities removed a total of 111 dogs from the property due to concerns of animal neglect. Officials say extremely high ammonia levels were detected inside the residence.
The Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by Le Mars Fire Rescue, the Animal Rescue League of Iowa, and the Siouxland Humane Society in the investigation and removal of the animals.
According to court documents, a pre-trial conference in the case is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, April 28th, at 1:00.
The update in this case is courtesy of Media Partner KTIV
