A Decorah man has pleaded not guilty to willful injury after allegedly stabbing another man earlier this month — the victim has since been charged with possessing a depiction of a minor in a sex act as part of a separate case.
The Decorah Police Department was dispatched at 7:26 p.m. Wednesday, July 31 to a home in the 600 block of South Mill Street, following a report of a man who had been stabbed. Police charged 37-year-old Alfredo Morales Hernandez with willful injury causing serious injury, a class C felony to which he pleaded not guilty in an Aug. 20 court filing.
The victim, whom prosecutors confirmed to be 56-year-old Jose Maria Cortez Vertiz of Decorah, sustained broken ribs and a lacerated liver, according to court documents, and he was taken to WinnMed by ambulance.
Cortez Vertiz’s phone was placed in police custody the night of the stabbing, according to court records. Investigators executed a search warrant for the device, and police found an explicit video involving what was described as a prepubescent girl in a sex act, which had been saved on the 56-year-old’s phone. Court documents said the video had been received through a messenger app and was dated June 9. A criminal complaint filed against Cortez Vertiz said he admitted to receiving multiple videos of minors involved in sexual acts.
Full article available in the August 29 Decorah Leader.
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