Former Mason City firefighter sentenced to ten years in prison on sexual abuse charge

MASON CITY —- It’s 10 years in prison for a former Mason City firefighter who pleaded guilty to a sexual abuse charge.

30-year-old Gendel Bimbo was accused of taking two people to the Hampton Inn and Suites in Mason City sometime between January 23rd and January 25th of last year and having sex with one of them, who was age 15 at the time. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation investigated the incident since Bimbo was a city employee at the time of the alleged crime, with Bimbo resigning and being arrested on May 2nd on a charge of third-degree sexual abuse.

Bimbo pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual abuse, a Class C felony. He was sentenced on Tuesday by District Judge Rustin Davenport to ten years in prison, was assessed a $250 civil penalty and must register on the Iowa Sex Offender Registry.