A 37-year-old former DeWitt teacher has received a special sentence for an inappropriate relationship with a former student, according to court records.
Cody David LaKose, of Cedar Rapids, earlier pleaded guilty to three charges of sexual exploitation by a school employee, court records show.
On Feb. 22, according to court records and the Clinton County State’s Attorney’s Office, LaKose was given a special sentence of up to 10 years on parole. That will include sex-offender treatment, an ankle-bracelet monitor, and compliance with the sex-offender registry, the Clinton County State’s Attorney’s Office told Our Quad Cities News on Tuesday.
He also was sentenced to serve 45 days in the Clinton County Jail, which he is to serve before the longer sentence.
An investigation in 2022
On March 2, 2022, DeWitt Police opened an investigation into alleged incidents involving LaKose, according to arrest affidavits. The investigation was a result of a former student who alleged being groomed by LaKose and who had a sexual relationship with the teacher while the victim was a student at Central DeWitt, affidavits show.
According to affidavits, the victim reported that during the spring of 2017, while the student was still a minor, LaKose and the victim began a sexual relationship, with some incidents in his school office.
The former student also provided the police with digital messages LaKose had sent. “These messages were sexual in nature and corroborate the information the victim reported to the DeWitt Police Department,” police said in affidavits.
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