Former wrestling coach strikes deal, pleads guilty

Jeremy Hendricks, 28, a former Marshalltown assistant wrestling coach, has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of sexual exploitation by a school employee and will be sentenced later this month.

Hendricks had originally been facing a felony charge, but struck a deal with prosecutors for the lesser charge.

“The court’s rules had deprived us of a substantial amount of evidence against him,” said Assistant Marshall County Attorney Paul Crawford.

Hendricks was accused of engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a student at Marshalltown High School. He was charged in 2005.

The deal means he will likely get no jail time for the crime. The prosecutor will be recommending probation.

“This will still require him to be on the sex offender registry,” Crawford said.

Crawford said he was also under the impression that Hendricks has surrendered his coaching license as a consequence of the situation.

The Iowa sex offender registry provides a searchable database of sex offenders and now also includes residency restrictions, limiting the locations sex offenders are able to live.