Two southeast Iowa residents are facing child endangerment charges after a registered sex offender was found to have been staying at a residence with young children on multiple occasions.
Clayton Titus, 32, of Mount Pleasant has been charged with two counts of Child Endangerment, both Aggravated Misdemeanors, and Sex Offender Registration Violation — First Offense, also an Aggravated Misdemeanor. Leia Rusch, 29, of Mount Pleasant has been charged with two counts of Child Endangerment, both Aggravated Misdemeanors.
According to court documents, the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services received a report on May 13th that Titus, a registered sex offender, had been present at Rusch’s residence around her children on multiple occasions. A child protection worker contacted the Henry County Sheriff’s Office on May 20th to report the alleged violations.
When investigators spoke with Titus, he admitted to staying at Rusch’s residence one or two nights at a time over the course of approximately two months while her children were home. The children are not Titus’s. Rusch was aware that Titus is a registered sex offender.
In addition to the child endangerment charges, Titus is accused of failing to comply with Iowa Sex Offender Registry requirements. Iowa law requires registered sex offenders to report changes in address or additional addresses within three business days. Court documents indicate that as of August 31st, Titus had not reported Rusch’s address to the registry despite staying there on multiple occasions.
Titus is being held on a $10,000 cash only bond with a preliminary hearing scheduled for September 16th. Rusch is being held on a $10,000 cash or surety bond with a preliminary hearing also scheduled for September 16th.
