News : Lyons to be sentenced Sept. 29, for election misconduct, perjury charges

Former Vinton-Shellsburg School Board President Pat Lyons pleaded guilty to one count of election misconduct and one count of perjury of statement Thursday, Aug. 11, in Benton County District Court.

District Court Judge Douglas Russell ordered Lyons to appear in court at 2 p.m. on Sept. 29, for sentencing. Both crimes are Class D felonies, with a maximum punishment of five years in jail and a $7,500 fine.

Lyons was charged in April with three counts of election misconduct and three counts perjury of statement. The charges stem from an investigation into Lyon's ineligibility to vote or run for office because of his status as a convicted felon. He had pleaded guilty to first degree theft in 1996; his voting rights were not restored until the fall of 2006. He was charged for filling out voter registration forms and candidate affidavit forms in which he claimed he either was not a felon or had had his voting rights restored, although he was at that time ineligible to vote or run for office because of the 1996 conviction.

Lyons pleaded guilty to Counts 5 and 6 of the charges against him. Count 5 accuses him of election misconduct in September of 2005 by submitting a voter registration application and/or voting although he was not eligible to vote. Count 6 accuses him of making false statements on a voter registration form in February of 2006.

Lyons was charged with the offenses in April, and resigned from the School Board at that time.

Click HERE for a summary of Lyons' eligibility to vote under Iowa law.

Click HERE for the April story about Lyons arrest.