Habitual Northeast Iowa Sex Offender Sentenced To Life In Prison

A northeast Iowa man will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Clarence Widner of Jesup was handed the sentence Friday in Buchanan County District Court. According to court records, the 63-year-old Widner was convicted of third-degree sexual abuse on Sept. 15 as a second or subsequent offender, a Class A felony. His bench trial was held in June.

In its ruling, the court found that Widner performed a sex act on a teenager against the teenager's will between Oct. 1, 2018, and Nov. 30, 2019. Widner was arrested by Buchanan County sheriff's on Jan. 6, 2020.

Court documents show that Widner was previously convicted of one count of lascivious acts with a child in Black Hawk County on Nov. 15, 1985. He was found guilty on two counts of lascivious acts with a child, also in Black Hawk County, on July 10, 1995.

According to court record, Widner has a multiple sex offender registry violations connected with several moves through northeast Iowa in 2019. Widner previously lived in Hazleton and Manchester.

Widner's life sentence was ordered to run consecutive to a 30-year prison term he received in Buchanan County in April for a failing to comply with the Sex Offender Registry and for violating his probation for an earlier similar offense.

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