IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 24-1164 Filed September 4, 2025
STATE OF IOWA, Plaintiff-Appellee,
vs.
BRANDON JOE LAUTENBACH, Defendant-Appellant. ________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Mahaska County,
Michael O. Carpenter, Judge.
A defendant appeals his conviction for second-degree sexual abuse.
AFFIRMED.
Martha J. Lucey, State Appellate Defender, and Gregory F. Greiner,
Assistant Appellate Defender, for appellant.
Brenna Bird, Attorney General, and Genevieve Reinkoester, Assistant
Attorney General, for appellee.
Considered without oral argument by Greer, P.J., and Badding and
Chicchelly, JJ. 2
BADDING, Judge.
“If you don’t fucking love me, I’ll force you to fucking love me,” yelled
Brandon Lautenbach at his then-girlfriend, M.D., minutes before he sexually
abused her. M.D. captured that statement and others on a cell phone recording
that she made of the abuse, which was played for the jury at Lautenbach’s trial for
second-degree sexual abuse and domestic abuse assault. The jury found
Lautenbach guilty of both crimes. On appeal, Lautenbach challenges the
sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction for second-degree sexual
abuse. We review this challenge for correction of errors at law. State v. Cook,
996 N.W.2d 703, 708 (Iowa 2023).
The jury was instructed that to find Lautenbach guilty of second-degree
sexual abuse, the State had to prove:
1. On or about the 7th day of August, 2021, the defendant performed a sex act with [M.D.] 2. The defendant performed the sex act by force or against the will of [M.D.] 3. During the commission of sexual abuse, the defendant used or threatened to use force creating a substantial risk of death or serious injury to any person.
Lautenbach contests the third element, primarily based on his assertion that
M.D. was an “unreliable and untrustworthy” witness. He contends that his denials
of abuse deserve “significant credit” by comparison. These arguments fail under
our standard of review, which is “highly deferential to the jury’s verdict.” State v.
Jones, 967 N.W.2d 336, 339 (Iowa 2021). “It is not within the province of our court
to resolve conflicts in the evidence, to pass upon the credibility of witnesses, to
determine the plausibility of explanations, or to weigh the evidence; such matters
are for the jury.” State v. Brown, 5 N.W.3d 611, 616 (Iowa 2024) (cleaned up). 3
The ultimate question is whether the evidence “supports the finding actually made,
not whether the evidence would support a different finding.” Jones, 967 N.W.2d
at 339 (citation omitted). In answering that question, “we view the evidence in the
light most favorable to the State, including all ‘legitimate inferences and
presumptions that may fairly and reasonably be deduced from the record
evidence.’” Id. (citation omitted).
With that proper framework in mind, we turn to whether the State presented
sufficient evidence that Lautenbach used or threatened to use force creating a
substantial risk of death or serious injury during his commission of sexual abuse.
M.D. told the jury that in 2021, she and Lautenbach were living in a trailer in
Lanphier’s Landing—a remote part of Mahaska County. Their years-long
relationship, which was fueled by daily methamphetamine use, had become toxic.
While Lautenbach was friendly and charismatic with others, he was verbally and
physically abusive with M.D.:
There was times where I would have my face smashed by his hand into wherever I was sitting, into the side of the car, into a couch. I have been elbowed in the face. I have had things thrown at me. I have been kicked in my ribs. I’ve been punched in my ribs, punched in the face, punched in the leg.
M.D. explained that over the course of their relationship, she had learned to
sense when their arguments would turn violent. One of those arguments started
on August 7, 2021. M.D. testified that it “was a rough day” because Lautenbach
wanted to have sex with her, and she “just didn’t want to.” She described
Lautenbach’s requests as a “constant” barrage. As the day went on, M.D. could
tell Lautenbach “was getting upset, and I hit record on my phone and threw it in 4
my purse because I just knew.” The recording captured audio from parts of the
abuse, which M.D. also described in her testimony.
The first twenty minutes of the recording are quiet. But then, Lautenbach
can be heard yelling at M.D., “You want to push me, and push me, and fucking
push me!” M.D. testified that while Lautenbach was yelling this at her, she was
sitting quietly on the couch. Lautenbach was next to her and saying, “You wanna
fuck me? You don’t wanna fuck me? Huh? Huh? You wanna fuck me?” When
M.D. stayed quiet, she testified that Lautenbach pushed her face into the side of
the couch. While Lautenbach was doing that, the recording captured him yelling:
Flinch from me. You stupid cocksucker. I want you to fuck me. That’s what I want you to do. I want you to give a fuck and come in here and lay with me. Love me. It’s not a lot to ask, is it? It’s not a fucking lot to ask. Sit there and fucking shut down then.
Lautenbach went into the nearby bedroom, where he continued to shout, “Are you
coming?” M.D. stayed on the couch, crying. She testified that Lautenbach came
back out to the living room and grabbed her by the arm. He can be heard on the
recording screaming: “Fucking get in here! I’ll drag your ass in here so you fucking
lay down next to me. Let’s go! If you don’t want to fucking love me, I’ll force you
to fucking love me.”
Once they were in the bedroom, M.D. testified that she was “frozen and just
stuck, like I was laying on the bed, like, stiff as a board staring out the window, like,
scared.” According to M.D., Lautenbach started asking, “‘Don’t you want me, don’t
you want me? Don’t you love me?’ And I’m like ‘yes,’ and he said, ‘You’re just
saying that because you don’t want beat up.’ And he’s like, ‘Am I going to have to
rape you?’” The recording captured some of these statements, although they were 5
quieter than the ones made while M.D. and Lautenbach were in the living room
because M.D.’s cell phone was left behind when Lautenbach grabbed her arm.
M.D. testified that Lautenbach moved his hand up her leg and pushed his fingers
inside her vagina. At the same time, he put his hand on her throat, covered her
mouth with his lips, and “shoved his tongue in [her] throat.” He continued to
strangle M.D. until she “could barely breathe at all” and “started to black out a little
bit.” M.D. testified that she thought Lautenbach was going to kill her. But then
their friend, Brittney, knocked on the trailer door. Brittney testified that she had
heard screaming coming from the trailer and M.D. saying, “Brandon, get off me.”
M.D. testified that she tried to open the door, but Lautenbach grabbed her
from behind and pulled her back to the bed, telling her: “Don’t you fucking open
that door. Don’t you fucking open it.” Brittney kept knocking, and Lautenbach
eventually opened the door. M.D. was standing behind him. Brittney testified that
M.D.’s face was red, and it looked like she had been crying. She asked M.D. if
she wanted to leave with her, but M.D. said no. Thinking the argument had been
defused, Brittney left. Once she was gone, Lautenbach continued sexually
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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 24-1164 Filed September 4, 2025
STATE OF IOWA, Plaintiff-Appellee,
vs.
BRANDON JOE LAUTENBACH, Defendant-Appellant. ________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Mahaska County,
Michael O. Carpenter, Judge.
A defendant appeals his conviction for second-degree sexual abuse.
AFFIRMED.
Martha J. Lucey, State Appellate Defender, and Gregory F. Greiner,
Assistant Appellate Defender, for appellant.
Brenna Bird, Attorney General, and Genevieve Reinkoester, Assistant
Attorney General, for appellee.
Considered without oral argument by Greer, P.J., and Badding and
Chicchelly, JJ. 2
BADDING, Judge.
“If you don’t fucking love me, I’ll force you to fucking love me,” yelled
Brandon Lautenbach at his then-girlfriend, M.D., minutes before he sexually
abused her. M.D. captured that statement and others on a cell phone recording
that she made of the abuse, which was played for the jury at Lautenbach’s trial for
second-degree sexual abuse and domestic abuse assault. The jury found
Lautenbach guilty of both crimes. On appeal, Lautenbach challenges the
sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction for second-degree sexual
abuse. We review this challenge for correction of errors at law. State v. Cook,
996 N.W.2d 703, 708 (Iowa 2023).
The jury was instructed that to find Lautenbach guilty of second-degree
sexual abuse, the State had to prove:
1. On or about the 7th day of August, 2021, the defendant performed a sex act with [M.D.] 2. The defendant performed the sex act by force or against the will of [M.D.] 3. During the commission of sexual abuse, the defendant used or threatened to use force creating a substantial risk of death or serious injury to any person.
Lautenbach contests the third element, primarily based on his assertion that
M.D. was an “unreliable and untrustworthy” witness. He contends that his denials
of abuse deserve “significant credit” by comparison. These arguments fail under
our standard of review, which is “highly deferential to the jury’s verdict.” State v.
Jones, 967 N.W.2d 336, 339 (Iowa 2021). “It is not within the province of our court
to resolve conflicts in the evidence, to pass upon the credibility of witnesses, to
determine the plausibility of explanations, or to weigh the evidence; such matters
are for the jury.” State v. Brown, 5 N.W.3d 611, 616 (Iowa 2024) (cleaned up). 3
The ultimate question is whether the evidence “supports the finding actually made,
not whether the evidence would support a different finding.” Jones, 967 N.W.2d
at 339 (citation omitted). In answering that question, “we view the evidence in the
light most favorable to the State, including all ‘legitimate inferences and
presumptions that may fairly and reasonably be deduced from the record
evidence.’” Id. (citation omitted).
With that proper framework in mind, we turn to whether the State presented
sufficient evidence that Lautenbach used or threatened to use force creating a
substantial risk of death or serious injury during his commission of sexual abuse.
M.D. told the jury that in 2021, she and Lautenbach were living in a trailer in
Lanphier’s Landing—a remote part of Mahaska County. Their years-long
relationship, which was fueled by daily methamphetamine use, had become toxic.
While Lautenbach was friendly and charismatic with others, he was verbally and
physically abusive with M.D.:
There was times where I would have my face smashed by his hand into wherever I was sitting, into the side of the car, into a couch. I have been elbowed in the face. I have had things thrown at me. I have been kicked in my ribs. I’ve been punched in my ribs, punched in the face, punched in the leg.
M.D. explained that over the course of their relationship, she had learned to
sense when their arguments would turn violent. One of those arguments started
on August 7, 2021. M.D. testified that it “was a rough day” because Lautenbach
wanted to have sex with her, and she “just didn’t want to.” She described
Lautenbach’s requests as a “constant” barrage. As the day went on, M.D. could
tell Lautenbach “was getting upset, and I hit record on my phone and threw it in 4
my purse because I just knew.” The recording captured audio from parts of the
abuse, which M.D. also described in her testimony.
The first twenty minutes of the recording are quiet. But then, Lautenbach
can be heard yelling at M.D., “You want to push me, and push me, and fucking
push me!” M.D. testified that while Lautenbach was yelling this at her, she was
sitting quietly on the couch. Lautenbach was next to her and saying, “You wanna
fuck me? You don’t wanna fuck me? Huh? Huh? You wanna fuck me?” When
M.D. stayed quiet, she testified that Lautenbach pushed her face into the side of
the couch. While Lautenbach was doing that, the recording captured him yelling:
Flinch from me. You stupid cocksucker. I want you to fuck me. That’s what I want you to do. I want you to give a fuck and come in here and lay with me. Love me. It’s not a lot to ask, is it? It’s not a fucking lot to ask. Sit there and fucking shut down then.
Lautenbach went into the nearby bedroom, where he continued to shout, “Are you
coming?” M.D. stayed on the couch, crying. She testified that Lautenbach came
back out to the living room and grabbed her by the arm. He can be heard on the
recording screaming: “Fucking get in here! I’ll drag your ass in here so you fucking
lay down next to me. Let’s go! If you don’t want to fucking love me, I’ll force you
to fucking love me.”
Once they were in the bedroom, M.D. testified that she was “frozen and just
stuck, like I was laying on the bed, like, stiff as a board staring out the window, like,
scared.” According to M.D., Lautenbach started asking, “‘Don’t you want me, don’t
you want me? Don’t you love me?’ And I’m like ‘yes,’ and he said, ‘You’re just
saying that because you don’t want beat up.’ And he’s like, ‘Am I going to have to
rape you?’” The recording captured some of these statements, although they were 5
quieter than the ones made while M.D. and Lautenbach were in the living room
because M.D.’s cell phone was left behind when Lautenbach grabbed her arm.
M.D. testified that Lautenbach moved his hand up her leg and pushed his fingers
inside her vagina. At the same time, he put his hand on her throat, covered her
mouth with his lips, and “shoved his tongue in [her] throat.” He continued to
strangle M.D. until she “could barely breathe at all” and “started to black out a little
bit.” M.D. testified that she thought Lautenbach was going to kill her. But then
their friend, Brittney, knocked on the trailer door. Brittney testified that she had
heard screaming coming from the trailer and M.D. saying, “Brandon, get off me.”
M.D. testified that she tried to open the door, but Lautenbach grabbed her
from behind and pulled her back to the bed, telling her: “Don’t you fucking open
that door. Don’t you fucking open it.” Brittney kept knocking, and Lautenbach
eventually opened the door. M.D. was standing behind him. Brittney testified that
M.D.’s face was red, and it looked like she had been crying. She asked M.D. if
she wanted to leave with her, but M.D. said no. Thinking the argument had been
defused, Brittney left. Once she was gone, Lautenbach continued sexually
assaulting M.D. Lautenbach fell asleep when he was done, and M.D. testified that
she “stayed there and cried until [she] fell asleep.” When M.D. reported the abuse
to the police two days later, she had bruising on her neck, chest, and leg, which
she testified was caused by Lautenbach.
At trial, Lautenbach denied sexually assaulting M.D., and he presented
witnesses who testified that she was not trustworthy. He also tried to explain his
statements on the audio recording, which he claimed was made before August 7,
to mean that he was just looking for “affection” from M.D., not sex: “I’m questioning 6
. . . why do you not want to have affection? Why do you not want to kiss me?”
And he suggested that M.D.’s bruises were from injecting methamphetamine.
Lautenbach reprises the same arguments on appeal. But these disputed fact and
credibility issues “were for the jury to resolve, and they did resolve them,” adverse
to Lautenbach. State v. Mathis, 971 N.W.2d 514, 519 (Iowa 2022).
Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, a rational trier
of fact could find beyond a reasonable doubt that Lautenbach used force that
created a substantial risk of death or serious injury to M.D. based on her testimony
that he strangled her until she couldn’t breathe. See State v. Brown, No. 16-1118,
2017 WL 2181568, at *4 (Iowa Ct. App. May 17, 2017) (“Compromising a victim’s
airway creates a substantial risk of death.” (citation omitted)). That testimony alone
was sufficient evidence of Lautenbach’s guilt. See Mathis, 971 N.W.2d 518;
accord State v. Donahue, 957 N.W.2d 1, 10–11 (Iowa 2021). While Lautenbach
“flatly denied committing any of the alleged abuse,” the jury was free to accept or
reject his testimony. Mathis, 971 N.W.2d at 518. Because “[a]ppellate review of
the jury’s verdict is not the trial redux,” id., we affirm Lautenbach’s conviction for
second-degree sexual abuse.