A former mayor of a small town in Iowa is facing rape and sodomy charges in Kansas City, Kan.
A spokeswoman for the Wyandotte County District Attorney says a young girl is the accuser of 27-year-old Jeremy Filbert.
Filbert is charged with two counts each of rape and aggravated sodomy of a child under 14-years old.
Wyandotte County records show Filbert was arrested in October 2015 and is accused of committing the crimes in September of that year.
Filbert is the former mayor of Mitchellville, Iowa. A town just east of Des Moines off Interstate 80 and has a population of roughly 2200.
Filbert, who had run for Iowa State Senate, ultimately resigned as mayor in April to take a job in Kansas City.
Wyandotte County records show Filbert was arrested and made his first court appearance in October.
Filbert was being held at the Wyandotte County Jail.
However due to overcrowding at that facility, he was moved to Correction Corporation of America's holding facility in Leavenworth December 28. A spokeswoman at that facility says Filbert is being held there in isolation.
Filbert's bond was set at $150,000.
Filbert is due in Wyandotte Court for a probable cause hearing on Friday, January 15, 2016.
A court spokeswoman told 41 Action News because the accuser is actually under the age of 13, she won't have to attend the probable cause hearing.
However, she would have to testify in court if the case goes to trial.
Previous arrest |
Filbert's arrest isn't the first time he's been criminally investigated.
In 2014, Filbert was accused of inappropriate conduct with children at Mitchellville Elementary School.
The Mitchellville Police Department turned the case over to Iowa's Division of Criminal Investigations. After a month long investigation, it was determined no criminal activity took place.
In July 2104, Filbert told the Des Moines Registerhe couldn't walk down the street without an escort and at that point, refused to resign.
"Once everything calms down, people understand and come around and realize nothing happened it's all good I can talk to the mayor again and move on," Filbert told the Register.
"At this point in time, I think it will take some time and people will realize nothing happened," Filbert told the Register in July, 2014.
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Andy Alcock can be reached at anderson.alcock@kshb.com.
