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A central Iowa police chief says he is concerned about what could come of a teenager involved in a sex abuse case if it doesn’t go to trial. The teen is named as the defendant in court documents. Woodward Police Chief Jim Graham says he anticipates the Boone County Attorney dropping the charges. “It is eating me alive,” Graham said. Graham says he wants the Boone County attorney to continue pursuing charges in the case.According to court documents, the allegations involve a 13-year-old victim and two offenders: a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old. Graham says the case stems from Woodward Academy’s problematic sexualized behavior treatment program back in November. “They do the best they can with the staff they have,” Graham said. “You just can’t watch every person every second of the day.” Court documents show that back in November, the 16-year-old made an “arrangement to engage in a sex act” with a 13-year-old. The documents also show the 16-year-old arranged for a sex act to occur “as a surprise to the victim” by a 15-year-old. “The 15-year-old followed the 13-year-old into the bathroom where they engaged in a sex act,” Graham said. “The 15-year-old then left. The 16-year-old went in and engaged the 13-year-old in a sex act.” Graham said the 13-year-old came forward first. Then came the 15-year-old who Graham says is being charged in juvenile court. According to Graham, the 16-year-old denied it. “The 16-year-old had been shipped back to Texas,” said Graham, who said the teen is from the state. Graham’s investigation led to his request for a warrant for the 16-year-old’s arrest. He says his officers went down to Texas two weeks ago, detained the 16-year-old, and returned to Iowa. The teen is being charged as an adult. “The Boone County attorney asked me to forward him the report again. I sent him the exact same report,” Graham said. “He then told me he wasn’t going to prosecute.” ����vlog reached out to Boone County Attorney Matthew Speers. He shared the following statement, which also explains why he cannot fully comment: “The Woodward Police Department filed a complaint against Mr. Keaton but a Trial Information has not yet been filed, so I am unable to fully comment about the particulars. This case is in District Court rather than juvenile court because the charge is a forcible felony and this juvenile is 16 years old. This is a crime due to the ages of the juveniles and there is no allegation of force used in the sex act.Before I file the formal charge I must weigh many different factors including insufficiency of admissible evidence to support the charge, undue hardship caused to the accused or victim, and any other mitigating circumstances. Filing a criminal charge can have a profound impact on both the victim and suspect.I did have correspondence with the Woodward Police Chief in this matter prior to and after he filed the criminal complaint. He elected to file the charge despite our conversations and my concern that it would be difficult for a jury to return a guilty verdict. His standard to charge is one of probable cause and it is a lesser standard than I must apply now.”“I understand that there’s — every case has problems, but there’s no case that is perfect: that there’s admission, that there’s DNA evidence, and that it’s on camera,” said Graham. “There’s definitely problems with the case, but it’s not that it’s not winnable.” Graham says he worries about what the future could hold. “I charged him as an adult. The consequences wouldn’t be so light in this if we would follow through with it,” Graham said. ����vlog reached out to Shawn Hollenkamp, the executive director of Woodward Academy. He shared the following statement: “Please know that at Woodward Academy, we take any and all allegations of misconduct very seriously. The safety, well-being, and dignity of the youth in our care and staff is our highest priority.When incidents are reported, we follow all applicable local, state, and federal laws, including mandated reporting requirements and cooperation with law enforcement or child welfare agencies as appropriate.Due to the confidential nature of juvenile records and out of respect for the privacy of all involved, we are unable to comment on specific youth or cases. However, I want to assure you that we are committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment for every individual on our campus.”