Northeast Iowa Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Kidnapping, Sexual Assault
A northeast Iowa man will spend life behind bars for kidnapping and sexual assaulting a female victim almost a year ago.
In May 2023, 44-year-old Bjorn Luster of Cresco was accused of sexually assaulting a female victim, restraining her with duct tape and zip ties, and threatening to kill her while putting a muzzleloader gun to her head.
Last October, a Howard County jury convicted him of first-degree kidnapping and second-degree sexual abuse. In March, a judge also found Luster guilty of possession of an incendiary device and three counts of possession of a firearm as a felon, charges also stemming from last May’s alleged incidents.
Monday (04.15), Luster was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
Luster has motioned for a new trial and filed some two dozen affidavits which he claims refutes the alleged victim’s account of what happened and evidence that can prove his innocence. Luster also alleges that the victim and another subject set him up for false arrest last May so that they could steal from him.
Court records show Luster was convicted in federal court in January 2014 of possession of a homemade bomb, for which he was sentenced to seven years in prison before his release in December 2021.
