Webster County Man Faces Multiple Sexually Related Charges

A Webster County man was in court on Tuesday to make his first appearance, as he faces multiple charges of a sexual nature.

40 year old Duncombe resident, Paul Peterson is charged with two counts of 3rd degree sexual abuse, three counts of incest and one count of lascivious conduct with a minor. Peterson is expected back in court later this month for his preliminary hearing.

While Peterson is accused of these crimes and has not yet been convicted, Webster County does have an alarming trend in the number of registered sex offenders compared to the state average. Statistics from City-Data, show that Webster County’s ratio of residents to registered sex offenders is over 30% higher than the average in Iowa.