1 year, 1 month ago by Scott Hardy
Former Midwest Academy owner Ben Trane hasn't reported to the Lee County Jail
The former owner of a troubled Keokuk boarding school, denied in his attempts to stay free after a conviction on child-sex charges, has not reported to prison.
Ben Trane, the former owner of Midwest Academy, was due to report Saturday morning to the Lee County Correctional Center, to start serving a nine-year sentence. Correctional Center staff said Monday morning that Trane was not in their facility as of that time. Trane was convicted by a Lee County jury in 2017 on counts of sexual assault, sexual exploitation by a counselor and child endangerment. He had been appealing the decision, before his final appeal to the Iowa State Supreme Court was rejected in January. Trane was convicted of sexually assaulting a Midwest Academy student after plying her and others with gifts, including a shopping spree at a lingerie store in the Quincy Town Center.
The school was raided by state and Federal authorities in late 2016 after the girl made the accusations, and the raids caused the school to be permanently closed.
