Waterville man arrested on charges of domestic and sexual assault

Saturday, August 20, Felty E. Yoder, age 22, of Waterville was arrested following an investigation conducted by the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Office in connection with a reported assault. Following further investigation, Yoder has been charged with one count of Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree (Class C Felony), five counts of Iowa Sex Offender Registry violations (Class D Felony), and one count of Domestic Abuse Assault, second or subsequent offense (Serious Misdemeanor).

Yoder was booked into the Allamakee County Jail. Bond was set in the amount of $36,500 cash or surety. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for August 31 at the Allamakee County Courthouse in Waukon.

Court documents explain that the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office contacted the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Office July 25 of this year regarding an assault that allegedly took place in Allamakee County July 21 where Yoder allegedly struck his wife in the face with an open hand at their residence in Waterville. After Allamakee County officials were able to make contact with Yoder’s wife, she provided a full statement on the July 21 incident, noting that the blow caused her to “see stars before losing consciousness for a bit,” and was reportedly in response to her husband finding out she was smoking cigarettes.

A temporary protective order was filed against Yoder in Allamakee County July 22 in regard to his wife and their two minor children. That temporary protective order was further extended following an August 1 hearing.

Also during the recent statement process, Yoder’s wife explained to officials that since December 2020 he allegedly forced her to have sexual intercourse against her will on multiple occasions. Further investigation into that allegation, including applying for several search warrants, resulted in the discovery of email and several social media accounts set up by Yoder that were all in violation of Iowa Sex Offender Registry regulations because they had not been registered with the proper authorities within five days of being set up.

Yoder had been convicted of Domestic Abuse Assault on two previous occasions in Fayette County in 2019. In September of that year, he pleaded guilty to slapping his wife in the face three times during an argument in their home. He also pleaded guilty to slapping his wife on the arm with a pair of leather gloves during an argument in their home in December 2019.

An arrest warrant had also been issued against Yoder June 2, 2020 for a first offense Sex Offender Registry Violation after he failed to notify the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office of his change in residency. In late May of that year, Yoder and his wife and one minor child at that time had moved to Kentucky without approval of his probation officer or notifying proper authorities.

Yoder had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of Invasion of Privacy-Nudity in conjunction with the September 2019 Domestic Abuse case. He was arrested in late September 2019 after he had been accused of placing a trail camera in a residential bathroom without the knowledge of occupants of the residence. He was placed on the Iowa Sex Offender Registry following his guilty plea in that incident.