A retrial has been ordered for a 28-year-old Hampton man originally charged with sexual exploitation by a school employee in Franklin County District Court. Ismael Rodriguez-Torres entered a guilty plea in June to a charge of lascivious conduct with a minor and was sentenced in August to two years in prison, suspended, and placed on 2-years of probation. The original charge is a class “D” felony, punishable by up to 5-years in prison.
Torres was alleged to have been involved with a female student in December of 2022. At the time, he was a head girls soccer coach and a high school paraeducator for the Hampton-Dumont School District.
After he was sentenced, he pursued a post-conviction relief action, seeking to set aside the guilty plea and sentence in the case. Rodriguez-Torres claimed that he received ineffective assistance from his attorney. Judge Rustin Davenport recently granted that request, with a jury trial now set for February 13th in Hampton.
