Former Mason City firefighter pleads not guilty to sexual abuse charge
MASON CITY — A former Mason City firefighter charged with sexually abusing a 15-year-old earlier this year has pleaded not guilty.
29-year-old Gendel Bimbo is accused of taking two people to the Hampton Inn and Suites in Mason City sometime between January 23rd and January 25th and having sex with one of them, who was age 15 at the time.
The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation investigated the incident since Bimbo was a city employee at the time of the alleged crime, with Bimbo resigning and being arrested on May 2nd on a charge of third-degree sexual abuse.
Bimbo filed a written plea of not guilty to the charge in Cerro Gordo County District Court on Tuesday. Online court records at last check did not indicate a trial date.
If convicted of third-degree sexual abuse, a Class C felony, Bimbo would face up to ten years in prison.
