One of the more high-profile cases that Greene County has seen in quite awhile has recently ended and County Attorney Thomas Laehn shares insight into both James and Noah Exline cases.

Last week, 21-year-old Noah Exline pled guilty to an amended charge of a misdemeanor for indecent contact with a child and was sentenced to two years of probation. He also must register as a sex offender. He was originally charged with seven felonies for second degree sexual abuse of his sister, Paige Exline. Laehn says that was a negotiated plea agreement between the Iowa Attorney General’s office, who was the lead prosecutor, and Noah’s defense attorney.  Laehn points out that it was ultimately the Attorney General’s office who made the plea agreement.

“I insisted that the penalty be at least as stringent as it was. But I think the AG’s office was probably inclined to negotiate an even less punitive sentence.”

Noah’s father James Exline was found guilty by a jury of two felonies for sexually abusing Paige, while Noah’s step-brother Patrick Thompson was also found guilty for murdering Paige and her cousin Shakiah Cockerham in a Guthrie Center house fire in May of 2017, attempted murder of two other family members and arson. Laehn says the Attorney General’s office had a specific way they wanted to go after each case.

“It was very intentional to do James Exline first, Patrick Thompson second, and Noah Exline third. There was a single overarching strategy. We secured convictions in James Exline’s case and Patrick Thompson’s case, by establishing their guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court. Both men will be spending the rest of their lives in prison. Those are victories. But we would not have accomplished that without Noah’s cooperation.”

James Exline is serving 75 years in prison and Thompson is serving two life in prison sentences. Laehn notes that not only did Noah provide key testimony against his father and step-brother, a majority of his alleged incidents happened when he was a minor and continued after he was 18-years-old. Additionally, he was brought up in an environment where sex abuse had previously existed with his father being on the sex offender registry.

Laehn adds that this experience has led him to have a good working relationship with the state’s Attorney General office and has made him more aware of how critical it is to work closely with law enforcement during and after an investigation.