ANKENY, Iowa — A high-profile Ankeny activist known as an “Iowa Mama Bear” for protests over COVID-19 mask mandates and vaccines was sentenced Monday after making false claims of abuse to DHS about a former business partner’s family.
Kimberly Reicks, 40, has been sentenced to a one-year suspended jail sentence and a year of probation after pleading guilty to one count of false report of indictable offense to public entity. She must also pay restitution to the victim and pay a fine of $430.
In October of 2022, Reicks was originally charged with one count of false report of indictable offense to public entity, two counts of child abuse-false report, and four counts of harassment.
The charges stemmed from claims Reicks made against her former business partner Emily Peterson’s family. After their business relationship soured, Reicks called DHS and made two anonymous complaints. Investigators were able to trace the calls back to Reicks, who initially denied making the calls, but later admitted to them after being confronted with recordings of the calls.
One call claimed one of Peterson’s children was sexually abusing a sibling. DHS investigated and deemed the accusation false. The other call claimed Peterson’s husband was watching his daughter change. DHS rejected that report.
A no-contact order is in place until 2028 prohibiting Reicks from contacting Peterson.