Police: Two Men Who Suspected Child Was Being Molested Charged for Storming into Apartment

An Iowa City man and his cousin are facing multiple charges after allegedly storming into an apartment and assaulting a woman Friday morning.

Police say the two men later said they had rushed the apartment because of suspicions that a child had been molested in the residence.

According to Iowa City criminal complaints, Malcolm Davis Johnson, 35, of 3042 Muscatine Ave. Apt. 15, of Iowa City, was charged with domestic abuse assault without intent causing injury, a misdemeanor, and second degree burglary, a felony. Police say he and his cousin Jackie Angelo Clark, 34, of Iowa City busted through a screen door at the 2400 BLOCK of Muscatine Avenue and assaulted a woman who was trying to bar their entry.

Police say they arrived at the scene at 9:53 a.m. to hear a woman screaming that a male was beating up a woman. After the scene was secured and all those involved were interviewed, police pieced together the following:

Clark and Johnson went to the residence looking to retrieve Johnson's children and confront a man who had been staying there. The pair at that point allegedly tried to enter the residence, busting through the screen door in the process, and encountered a woman who shares two children with Johnson, according to the complaint.

The woman attempted to stop them from entering and this led to Johnson allegedly pinning the woman against the wall with his hand on her neck, while Clark allegedly punched her in the face.

The two men said that they had attempted to storm into the apartment because they believed a 7-year-old girl had been molested by a man who was staying there and that they attempted to enter the house unannounced to avoid the woman's attention.

Iowa City Police Lt. Bill Campbell said while police understood that such a situation is "emotionally charged," the response from the two men was deemed inappropriate.

"That isn't going to justify breaking into someone's house and assaulting them," Campbell said. "At the same time, just because that's how they chose to respond, that doesn't mean we won't look into their accusation."

Campbell said police have conducted some investigation into the claim of sexual abuse but no action has been taken. He would not say exactly what gave the men the impression that sexual abuse was taking place, but he did say that the situation was a complicated one.

Clark was charged with two counts of simple assault and also was charged with second degree burglary.