State of Iowa v. Joshua James Ramage

── State of Iowa v. Joshua James Ramage ── Court: Court of Appeals of Iowa Date: April 29, 2026 Category: General IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA _______________ No. 25-0465 Filed April 29, 2026 _______________ State of Iowa, Plaintiff–Appellee, v. Joshua James Ramage, Defendant–Appellant. _______________ Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Decatur County, The Honorable Dustria A. Relph, Judge. _______________ AFFIRMED _______________ Gary Dickey of Dickey, Campbell, & Sahag Law Firm, PLC, Des Moines, attorney for appellant. Brenna Bird, Attorney General, and Zachary Miller, Assistant Attorney General, attorneys for appellee. _______________ Considered without oral argument by Greer, P.J., and Schumacher and Chicchelly, JJ. Opinion by Chicchelly, J. 1 CHICCHELLY, Judge. Joshua Ramage appeals his convictions for three counts of sexual abuse in the third degree. On appeal, he argues the district court erred when it refused to grant a mistrial after the prosecutor commented on Ramage’s invocation of his right to remain silent. Upon our review, we affirm. BACKGROUND FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS Ramage moved to Iowa in 2014 with his wife, son, and two stepchildren. Within days of moving to Iowa, Ramage sexually abused his stepdaughter for the first time. And from there, it continued regularly. The stepdaughter told the jury, “He molested me inside the house, in my room, in his room, sometimes in the living room.” When asked to describe these acts, she testified, “He would put his hand in my pants and touch my private parts. He would put his penis inside me.” During this time, she was twelve to thirteen years old. Soon the abuse took a different turn. Ramage would order his two stepchildren to touch each other. If the children refused to touch each other, he would strike them with a belt. The stepdaughter testified that she was forced to engage in sex acts with Ramage or her brother every day. The abuse continued through the early months of 2016. It was in early 2016 that Ramage’s fourteen-year-old stepdaughter discovered she was pregnant after she was feeling sick and nauseous regularly. When confronted with the pregnancy, Ramage told his stepdaughter “I didn’t come inside you, so I don’t know how.” When the child was to be born, Ramage took his stepdaughter multiple hours away to have the child delivered by midwives. 2  Law enforcement eventually became involved after learning of rumors that Ramage’s stepdaughter had a baby, and they interviewed her at school. She initially denied any sexual abuse, fearing Ramage would beat her with a belt. After law enforcement returned with the victim’s mother, she admitted that she had recently given birth and disclosed the sexual abuse. A later DNA test revealed that Ramage was the father of the child. In July 2016, the State initially charged Ramage by trial information with two counts of third-degree sexual abuse in violation of Iowa Code section 709.4(1)(a) and (1)(b)(3)(a) and (d) (2016). But Ramage fled the state of Iowa shortly after being charged. He remained away until he was arrested in California in June 2024. Ramage returned to Iowa in July 2024. The State then filed an amended trial information consolidating an additional count of third-degree sexual abuse that was charged in a companion case with the same victim. The matter proceeded to a two-day jury trial in December 2024. During the State’s rebuttal closing argument, the prosecutor stated in part: I guess, first thing I’ll say, ladies and gentlemen