Ben Trane Found Guilty on Sex Abuse Charges

Benjamin Trane, the former owner and director of Midwest Academy, shows no emotion as he was found guilty on three counts in his sexual abuse and child endangerment trial, Friday Dec. 22, 2017 at the South Lee County Courthouse in Keokuk, Iowa. [John Lovretta/thehawkeye.com]After two weeks of trial, it took a Lee County jury less than 3 hours of deliberation to return a guilty verdict in the trial of Ben Trane, the former owner of Midwest Academy in Keokuk, Iowa. Trane was charged with sexual assault of a minor, sexual exploitation of a minor by a counselor, and child endangerment in relation to his activities as Director of the program after a tip to authorities led to the school being raided and shut down .
During the trial, prosecutors accused Trane of grooming and plying girls by buying them expensive lingerie from Victoria’s Secret and making them model the underwear for him as a part of what he called “body image therapy”. One witness, now 19, testified that Trane had sexually assaulted her between seven and ten times, including manual, oral, and vaginal intercourse. Prosecutors also focused on the abusive and harsh punitive measures taken at the school to discipline students, including seclusion in a small isolation room while holding various “stress positions” for time periods that could last days or even weeks.
Jurors found the prosecution’s case convincing, and convicted Trane on all counts, although they found him not guilty of the most serious crime, third degree sexual assault of a minor, instead opting for a lesser misdemeanor sexual assault charge. Regardless, Trane faces up to 9 years in prison, including a mandatory minimum sentence, and will have to register as a sex offender.
After the verdict, Trane’s lawyer in a statement said Trane “respects the jury’s decision” but refused to indicate whether Trane would appeal the charges.